Jaiprakash Associates announced that its board has approved signing of share purchase agreement with Dalmia Cement (Bharat) for sale of 74% stake (9.89 crore equity shares owned by it) in the paid-up equity share capital of Bokaro Jaypee Cement (BoJCL) [a joint venture between JAL and Steel Authority of India (Sail)] to Dalmia Cement (Bharat) or any of its associates/affiliates. The above stake sale is subject to the approval of Sail and such other approvals, as may be necessary from lenders of BoJCL and concerned authorities. The consideration for the transaction works out to approximately Rs. 69.74 per share (against its cost of Rs 18.57 per share), the company said.
In a separate announcement, Dalmia Bharat said that its subsidiary company, Dalmia Cement (Bharat), has signed definitive agreements for acquisition of 74% stake in Bokaro Jaypee Cement, at a consideration of Rs 1150 crore on 24 March 2014, subject to various regulatory/contractual clearances and permissions. The consideration for such acquisition shall be subject to the adjustments and various other terms and conditions set out in the definitive agreements.
ONGC said it will take up Additional Development of its Vasai East Field in Arabian Sea at a total estimated capital cost of Rs 2476.82 crore. The project, scheduled to be completed by December 2018, will result in incremental Oil production of 1.83 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) and incremental Gas production of 1.971 Billion Cubic Metres (BCM) by 2030.
The company's board, in its meeting held on 24th March 2014, accorded approval to the project. This project will improve the Recovery factor of Vasai East field with infill wells towards north & south side of the field with two well platforms VSEB and VSEC and utilizing existing surface facilities at process platform of BPA and BCPA-2with minor modifications.
The oil and gas fields of ONGC on Arabian Sea are over 40 years vintage. ONGC, now recognized as one of the best brownfield managers in the Exploration and Production world, has increased its recovery factor to over 40 per cent by aggressive redevelopment efforts since 2001.
Meanwhile, the board of ONGC also approved a second interim dividend of Rupees 4.25 per equity share, i.e. 85% on the equity share of Rs 5 each for the financial year ending March 2014.
Further, the company's board also took note of the notification of one discovery at its well NW-B173A-8 in South and East Bassein PML of Western Offshore basin as a new prospect. The well was drilled to a depth of 2132 metres. Upon production testing, the interval 1475-1480 metres and 1481.5-1490 metres in Mukta formation produced oil at 2246 BOPD and gas at 70997 m3/day through1/2 choke. The discovery will add to the reserves and production potential of the field B-173A. With this, total new discoveries of ONGC during the year 2013.14 adds to fourteen, ONGC said in a statement.
GAIL (India) announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014, that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., Japan (Chubu) on 21 March 2014. Under the MoU, GAIL and Chubu shall mainly explore possibilities for collaboration in the area of joint LNG procurement. Besides, the two companies will also seek to collaborate on shipping optimization, GAIL (India) said in a statement.
Chubu and GAIL are, both, large LNG importers having considerable synergy between their LNG business profiles. It is assessed that with GAIL joining hands with Chubu for jointly pursuing LNG procurement and other allied business opportunities, such a collaboration shall augment GA1L's efforts to aggressively source LNG volumes on competitive terms and would be a win-win proposition for both companies, GAIL (India) said.
GAIL's latest move is also in sync with the company's recent efforts in establishing and promoting Asia LNG Forum, a sort of Asian LNG buyers' club. GAIL is also actively working towards establishing a regional gas trading hub for Asia as well as an Asian gas index.
This MoU with Chubu is yet another effort by GAIL towards bridging the gap in demand supply of natural gas in the Indian market, GAIL (India) said. This is in addition to other initiatives of GAIL towards LNG sourcing, creating LNG regasification infrastructure, reserving liquefaction tolling capacity in overseas projects and augmenting transmission capacity significantly over the next few years. GAIL will continue to make efforts to tie-up affordable LNG in its portfolio to meet the rapidly growing energy demand of the Indian market.
Chubu is one of the largest importers of LNG in Japan, and has significant presence across gas value chain including upstream assets, liquefaction capacity and regas capacity.
The Election Commission of India has reportedly asked the government to defer a hike in gas prices due to start 1 April 2014, ahead of next month's election, a development that is likely to hurt Reliance Industries (RIL) and other gas producers.
Reliance Industries (RIL) clarified that a number of misconceptions have been floating around the issue of gas price hike. One such misconception is that the Government will increase fertilizer prices immediately, with the increase in gas price. It is alleged that this shall lead to increase in prices of all food grains produced by the farmers. "We want to place certain facts for consideration," RIL said.
Close to 40% of gas consumed in the country is imported in the form of LNG. Current price of LNG imported in the country is around $18 per MMBTU. Even at domestic gas price of $8 per MMBTU, imported LNG will be costlier by at least $10 per MMBTU, i.e. it will cost more than double the price paid to domestic gas producers. The moot point is why those who are raising the issue about higher domestic gas price are quiet about increased profits that international gas companies will be making by supplying gas to India at much higher prices. "Are these vested interests aligned with those of the international gas companies?" RIL said.
RIL added that fertilizer prices are set by the government and not on the basis of cost of fertilizer production. About 75% of domestic gas is being produced by public sector companies. As per media reports, ONGC alone will benefit to the tune of Rs 16000 crore following the price hike. Government's income will also increase due to higher royalty and taxes. The increased income to the Government will be much higher than additional subsidy that it will have to shell out for the fertilizer sector. Thus, the Government will have no reason to pass on increased gas price to farmers, the company said.
With regard to power sector, RIL clarified that gas produced by the company is not being used presently by any power producer in the country. In any case, only 5% of power produced in India is produced from gas and the remaining 95% is produced by coal, hydel and nuclear power plants. Thus, this propaganda that gas price hike will increase power tariffs dramatically is misplaced. Therefore, the issue about power and fertilizer rates going up due to increase in gas prices is only a political stunt devoid of facts, the company said.
Marico said that Mr. Milind Sarwate, Croup CFO, has decided to move on to pursue opportunities outside the Marico Group. His last working day with the company is 31 March 2014.
Indian Hotels Company said after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 27 March 2014, to consider various long-term fund raising options for the company including, an issue of equity shares of the company and / or equity-linked instruments and / or debentures (the Securities) to its shareholders on a rights basis, or through a public offer of the Securities or otherwise, as the board may deem appropriate.
Zee Entertainment Enterprises said that as per the Scheme of Arrangement approved by Bombay High Court vide order passed on 20 December 2013 and the terms of '6% Cumulative Redeemable Non-Convertible Preference Shares of Re. 1 each' issued by the company as bonus on 6 March 2014, the said Preference Shares shall be entitled to pro rata Dividend at 6% per annum for each financial year. Preference Dividend for the Financial Year ending on 31 March 2014 shall be paid on 15 April 2014 to the shareholders holding Preference Shares as at 31 March 2014. Accordingly, 31 March 2014 has been fixed as Record date for determining the eligibility of Preference Shareholders who would be entitled to prorata payment of Dividend at 6% per annum for the period from the date of allotment i.e. 6 March 2014 till 31 March 2014 (both days inclusive).
TV Today Network announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 that a meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on 9 May 2014, inter alia, to consider, recommendation of dividend and to take on record the audited financial results of the company for the year ended on 31 March 2014.
Rane Engine Valve announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 that at the board meeting of the company held on 24 March 2014, Mr. L. Ganesh, Chairman and Managing Director has been re-appointed as 'Managing Director' within the meaning of Section 2(54) of the Companies Act, 2013, for a period of three years with effect from 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2017, subject to approval of the shareholders.
Sasken Communication Technologies announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 that it has successfully delivered full phone development of Inmarsat's IsatPhone 2 satellite mobile handset. Sasken was deeply involved with all aspects of development; including software, hardware, mechanical design, antenna design, system integration, testing, as well as manufacturing support. This engagement follows a successful partnership the two companies had earlier, for the development of IsatPhone Pro in 2010.
The IsatPhone 2 provides improved features and functionalities such as faster network registration, higher voice quality, voice mail, extended battery life, emergency assistance, built-in E-compass, tracking, bluetooth connectivity; all packaged in an ergonomic and ruggedized handheld specifically designed and developed by Sasken.
Sasken is once again proud to be a key partner behind the successful delivery of IsatPhone 2 for Inmarsat, the world's leading provider of mobile satellite communications, said Anjan Lahiri, CEO, Sasken.
Ronald Spithout, President, Inmarsat Enterprise said: This reinforces our capability in Productization, Commercialization and Maintenance of products across the technology spectrum in demanding environments. We are pleased with the capability and commitment demonstrated by Sasken in developing a high quality robust handheld for our satellite phone portfolio. Sasken has been a reliable partner to us for over a decade; supporting us in delivering products and services that exceed the expectations of our customers around the world.
Sasken developed the IsatPhone 2 from multiple locations around the globe working in tandem. Sasken's team in Finland took ownership of hardware design, while software was developed and integrated in India; whereas satellite specific testing was carried out in Indonesia, parts of Europe and North America as well as other key markets.
Manoj Damodar, Client Partner and Head, EMEA Business, Sasken, said: Leveraging our extensive experience in developing mobile devices, and combining our deep knowledge of communication protocols, multimedia, UI, middleware, mobility applications and testing expertise, we were able to successfully deliver the IsatPhone 2 for Inmarsat.
Sasken will continue to augment capabilities to deliver innovative products and solutions for customers across the technology and communications ecosystem, Sasken said in a statement.
Mindtree, a global technology solutions company, announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 a strategic alliance with Pegasystems Inc, the leader in Business Process Management (BPM), to develop and optimize custom BPM solutions. The solutions will be based on Pegasystems' Build for Change technology platform.
Customers want a solution that leverages BPM platforms across multiple lines of business, said Paul Gottsegen, Senior VP, Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Mindtree. Our broad alliance with Pegasystems helps our clients accelerate their efforts to create a more streamlined organization.
Mindtree shares our vision of providing clients with innovative solutions that solve a broad spectrum of challenges that today's businesses face on the path to becoming digital enterprises, said John Barone, VP, Global Strategic Alliances at Pegasystems. We look forward working together to meet the needs of our clients with Better Business Software and services that enable them to transform their businesses and embrace the power to better engage with customers, simplify operations, and adapt to change.
Mindtree's EAI / BPM center of excellence conceptualizes and incubates key solutions that provide clients with better performance and high quality processes at reduced costs. Through a consulting-led approach, technology expertise and proven methodology, Mindtree delivers large-scale EAI/BPM transformation.
PVH Corp, the owner of the Calvin Klein trademarks worldwide, and Arvind announced after market hours on Monday, 24 March 2014 that Arvind Brands and Retail, a subsidiary of Arvind, has replaced PVH's prior joint venture partners in Premium Garments Wholesale Trading Private, the licensee of the Calvin Klein trademarks in India.
In connection with the transaction, Calvin Klein, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH, entered into a new license with Premium Garments to distribute Calvin Klein Jeans apparel and accessories and Calvin Klein Underwear products in India.
This new arrangement takes advantage of PVH's control of the brand vision for these two Calvin Klein product categories resulting from its acquisition of The Warnaco Group, Inc. in February 2013 and Arvind's operational expertise in the region, and is intended to maximize the market opportunities for these product categories throughout India.
The joint venture will focus on the expansion and enhancement of the existing Calvin Klein Jeans apparel and accessories (including belts, bags, and small leather goods) and Calvin Klein Underwear (including sleepwear and loungewear) businesses.
PVH and Arvind are also partners in a joint venture that licenses PVH's Tommy Hilfiger brand in India.
By having Arvind - a true leader in the Indian apparel industry and established PVH business partner - join this venture, we believe we are well-positioned to execute against and expand upon the growth strategy for the Calvin Klein brand in India, said Tom Murry, Chief Executive Officer of Calvin Klein, Inc.
Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman & Managing Director of Arvind said, Calvin Klein is one of the strongest fashion brands in the world and we are delighted to be JV partners with PVH for Calvin Klein in India. This relationship also strengthens our 20 years association with PVH, which started with the ARROW license and since has been extended to our joint venture with PVH for the Tommy Hilfiger business and the license for IZOD.
Calvin Klein substantially strengthens our rich portfolio of brands, said J. Suresh, Managing Director and CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands. By combining the strengths of the Calvin Klein brand and Arvind's operational capabilities in the Indian market, we believe we can build Calvin Klein into India's largest lifestyle brand over the next five years.
Kwality said that its board, at its meeting held on 24 March 2014, discussed the expansion plan for setting up of MCC/strengthening farmer milk, procurement process, expanding of capacity in existing units, setting up of new units by way of new investment / buyout / merger of existing units. The board approved the budget of approximately Rs 375 crore for the same and it is to be met out of internal accruals and debt from bank.
Sunil Hitech Engineers said that its board recommended to allot 75 lakh warrants out of which 55 lakh will be allotted to promoter group, and 20 lakh to non-promoters.
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