ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

QBiz: NCLT Turns Down Mistry’s Plea; Netflix Expands in India

A roundup of all the important business news making the headlines.

Published
Business
5 min read
story-hero-img
i
Aa
Aa
Small
Aa
Medium
Aa
Large
Hindi Female

1. Big Blow to Cyrus Mistry: NCLT Rules Former Chairman's Petition Against Tata Sons Not Maintainable

In a big blow to Cyrus Mistry, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Monday said that the former chairman's family firms are not qualified to file a petition alleging mismanagement of Tata Sons and oppression of minority shareholders.

“The petitioners have failed to convince the court that the application is maintainable,” said BSV Kumar, presiding member of NCLT. Shareholder needs at least 10% to file a petition in the NCLT, according to Companies Act, 2013. The quasi-judicial body will decide on whether it can waive this requirement on 7 March.

Tata Sons argued that Mistry's family firms – Cyrus Investments Pvt Ltd and Sterling Investments Pvt Ltd – hold only 2.17 % shares of the total share capital (equity + preference shares) of Tata Sons, which makes them unqualified to allege any charges. Mistry's office declined to comment.

(Source: Economic Times)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

2. Richest Indian Said to Cut Future Tax Bill With Reliance Revamp

India’s richest man is looking at ways of insulating his family’s holdings in Reliance Industries Ltd from the government’s efforts to tax some long-term capital gains, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Mukesh Ambani’s plan to revamp his stake in the nation’s second most-valuable company, by transferring shares between entities affiliated with his family, is aimed at reducing their potential bill following changes in Indian levies, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private matters.

The move may help contain liabilities from the sales at about $45 million compared with nearly $4.5 billion if they were to do a similar deal after 1 April once the tax changes take effect, according to Bloomberg calculations.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

0

3. Netflix in Strategic Partnerships with Airtel, Vodafone, Videocon D2h

Popular online video streaming service Netflix on Monday said it has formed three separate strategic partnerships with telcos Bharti Airtel Ltd and Vodafone India and direct-to-home (DTH) television operator Videocon d2h.

The announcement was made in New Delhi by Netflix co-founder and chief executive Reed Hastings, who is visiting India for the first time.

The new partnerships are meant to expand distribution and make access to Netflix easier for Indians via integration through set-top boxes and prepaid mobile schemes.

While the company did not reveal the details of these partnerships, Hastings said that Netflix would do more partnerships with both mobile and set top box operators to make it easier, particularly on the billing side.

(Source: Livemint)

Read The Quint’s report here.

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

4. Visen Industries in Talks With Edelweiss to Raise Rs 200 Crore

Mumbai-based polymer emulsions maker Visen Industries Ltd is in talks to raise at least Rs 200 crore from Edelweiss Special Opportunities Fund, two people aware of the development said.

“Visen is in advanced talks with the Edelweiss fund to raise structured credit of around Rs 200 crore, which will be used specifically to provide an exit to its existing private equity investor Carlyle Group,” one of the two people cited above said requesting anonymity, as the talks are private.

Carlyle, which invested in the company more than five years ago, is keen on exiting, he added. It had invested $25 million in Visen Industries in 2011 through an affiliate—First Carlyle Ventures III, which was part of part of the Carlyle Asia Growth Partners IV, a $1 billion sector-agnostic fund.

(Source: Livemint)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

5. Reliance Jio's Push for a 50% Revenue Market Share May Hurt Idea, Vodafone

Vodafone India and Idea Cellular could be the most vulnerable to Reliance Jio Infocomm’s push for a 50% revenue market share (RMS) by FY2021, analysts and industry experts said, but added that the 4G entrant’s aggressive ambitions will not be a cakewalk.

Vodafone and Idea's relatively smaller on-ground 4G presence coupled with challenges of working around the complexities of their potential merger with possible cuts in capex spends over the next 12-to-15 months in the merger lead-up, could be big RMS drags, going forward, they said.

Some fear they may see their combined RMS shrink to under 20% from nearly 44% now. They though expect market leader Bharti Airtel to maintain a 30% RMS, albeit a tad lower than its present 33% level, on grounds that it is ahead both on 4G spectrum holdings and coverage versus its closest incumbent rivals.

(Source: Economic Times)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

6. Tech Mahindra to Buy US-based HCI Group

IT services company Tech Mahindra on Monday said it would acquire US-based healthcare IT services and consulting firm The HCI Group for about $110 million.

“The acquisition will not only position Tech Mahindra as a significant player in the healthcare provider space but will also provide an opportunity to go deeper in this space via EMR implementation and surrounding services route,” said CP Gurnani, MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra.

As part of the transaction, the company will make an upfront payment of $89.5 million for the purchase of 84.7% stake in the HCI Group. The balance will be acquired over three years.

(Source: The Hindu)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

7. Easier To Do Business In India, But Country Still Among Worst Performers

India improved its ease of doing business ranking last year – moving up from 131 to 130 in a list of 190 countries – by reducing the average time taken to start an enterprise and secure a permanent electricity connection, according to 2016 World Bank data. However, an IndiaSpend analysis of these data shows that India still ranks among the worst performers on other key parameters.

Using five parameters, IndiaSpend picked 10 nations across seven regions to compare India’s ease of doing business – south and east Asia (including China), developed countries, sub-Saharan Africa, lower middle income countries such as India (with per capita incomes between $1,026 and $4,035) and the European Union. In most indicators, India ranked low, coming closest to sub-Saharan African countries.

The one area where India has made considerable improvement is provision of electricity to new businesses. It has overtaken three major economies and lags only behind Germany in this aspect.

(Source: BloombergQuint)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

8. Music Broadcast IPO Subscribed 51% on First Day

Radio City FM station operator Music Broadcast Ltd’s initial public offering (IPO) was subscribed 51% on the first day of the offer.

According to data from stock exchanges, as of 6 pm, the portion reserved for retail investors was subscribed 100%, while the high net-worth individuals’ category was subscribed 3%. The institutional investor category saw zero subscription.

On Friday, the company raised Rs 146.5 crore by allotting shares to anchor investors as part of the so-called anchor book allocation. The IPO closes on 8 March.

(Source: Livemint)

ADVERTISEMENTREMOVE AD

9. Ranbaxy's Singh Brothers Must Seek Permission to Sell Assets: High Court

The Delhi High Court told former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder and Shivinder Singh that they will have to seek its permission before selling any of their unencumbered assets. That could complicate reported plans to sell stakes in companies such as Fortis Healthcare and their Religare units, although the court didn’t pass any outright injunction against such an exercise.

The Singhs, engaged in a court battle against Daiichi Sankyo, have also been directed to furnish details of all unencumbered assets to ascertain that they will have enough funds to cover an arbitration award of more than Rs 2,500 crore granted to the Japanese drug maker by a Singapore tribunal last year.

The Court of Arbitration in Singapore had granted the award to Daiichi as damages for not disclosing relevant information to the Japanese company during the sale of Ranbaxy Laboratories. The Singh brothers are contesting this arbitration award in the Delhi High Court.

(Source: Economic Times)

(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)

Read Latest News and Breaking News at The Quint, browse for more from news and business

Topics:  Airtel   Vodafone   Ranbaxy 

Speaking truth to power requires allies like you.
Become a Member
3 months
12 months
12 months
Check Member Benefits
Read More
×
×