Top 10 business headlines: Mindtree stake sale, Audi India sales, and more

Here are the top 10 business stories that made news on Tuesday

Fairfax edges past L&T Infotech, Tech Mahindra in race for Mindtree stake

With the founders of Mindtree reluctant to cash in their holdings, Prem Watsa-owned Fairfax is learnt to be leading the race to acquire V G Siddhartha’s stake in the Bengaluru-headquartered IT services firm, sources in the know said. Currently, Siddhartha holds close to a 21 per cent stake through various entities, while the founders of Mindtree — Subroto Bagchi, N S Parthasarathy, Krishnakumar Natarajan and Rostow Ravanan — hold around 13 per cent in the company. Click here to read.

Staring at revenue shortfall, I-T dept sends tax notices to mutual funds

The income-tax (I-T) department is nudging companies, especially mutual fund houses, to pay the dividend distribution tax (DDT). This comes as the I-T department is staring at a shortfall in revenue collection. Read on...

Sun Pharma to settle Dubai firm loans, shift distribution arm to subsidiary

Seeking to ease investor concerns, embattled drug major Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Tuesday announced plans to unwind loans of Rs 2,238 crore given to a Dubai-based company, Atlas Global Trading FZC, and transfer the distribution of the domestic formulation business to a subsidiary from a separate entity. Read on...

Audi India sales on reverse gear, down 18% to 6,463 units in 2018

German luxury carmaker, Audi, which was once the segment leader in the domestic market, is struggling to grow sales while its peers — Mercedes and BMW — have managed to clock a record volume for the past two consecutive calendar years (CY). Audi now ranks third after Mercedes and BMW. Read on...

Will take action against firms such as Liberty House: NCLAT

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday came down hard on companies such as Liberty House Group, which successfully bid for debt-ridden firms under the corporate insolvency resolution process but later withdrew citing one reason or the other. Click here to read.

Now, pet owners can buy health insurance policies for dogs and cats

Pet owners can now buy health insurance policies for their dogs and cats to take care of their medical treatments. Many companies have recently started offering such plansm with a premium ranging between 4 to 22 per cent of the sum insured. Read on...

Naturals Ice Cream plans expansion, steps out of its comfort zone

For Mumbaikars a scoop of Naturals Ice Cream is synonymous with fresh-fruit flavours, devoid of preservatives and sweeteners. The 35-year-old brand, which switched from the name ‘Natural’ to ‘Naturals’ in 2017, today has 125 stores, mainly in the south and west of India. (Click here to read.

Lodha Developers to buy back dollar bonds

Lodha Developers International Ltd, a subsidiary of Lodha Group, has announced a buyback programme for its senior dollar-denominated bonds, which are due in 2020, according to a Livemint report.

Now you can invest just Rs 100 in some mutual fund schemes

In a bid to attract more investors, various domestic mutual funds have slashed the minimum lump sum investment amount in a scheme to Rs 100, according to The Economic Times report. Earlier, most MF schemes required investors to put in at least Rs 500-Rs 5,000 as lump sum.

Move to allow NITI Aayog to steer drug-price control raises hackles

In what seems like diluting the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority’s (NPPA) powers, the government has now authorised think-tank NITI Aayog to recommend drugs that could be put under price control, according to The Hindu BusinessLine report.