Daily News Roundup - Feb 22 2012

IL&FS Investment Managers Ltd (IIML), is in advanced stages of negotiations to buy out The Hershey Company’s 51% equity stake in its joint venture with the Godrej group.(ET)

The Vedanta Resources group may merge iron ore firm Sesa Goa with copper and aluminum maker Sterlite Industries as it tries to simplify a complex corporate structure and deal with challenges to its main businesses.(ET)

Reliance Industries (RIL) and Russian rubber giant Sibur announced the formation of a joint venture company called Reliance Sibur Elastomers that aims to become the fourth largest supplier of butyl rubber — an input for tyres — in the world.(ET)



GTL Infra may get about Rs.10bn from Aircel since the telco will not be able to deliver on its promise to rent 20,000 additional towers by mid-2013.(ET)

Mahindra & Mahindra will invest Rs.110bn over the next three years to launch new products and double its production capacities, a top executive said.(ET)

Coal India may be asked to make additional supplies of approximately 50 mn tonnes of coal in 2012-13 and, reach them to power stations ignoring concerns on the logistics front.(BL)

The US$6bn Adani Group, which has emerged as India’s major diversified conglomerate in recent years, will have a new identity and logo by this weekend.(BL)

Rural Electrification Corp (REC) has received the Finance Ministry’s approval to raise Rs.30bn through issue of tax-free bonds this fiscal.(BL)

The Metering & Protection Systems business of Larsen & Toubro and UK-based Cyan Holdings will come together in a strategic partnership for the development, supply and delivery of advanced metering solutions.(BL)

JSW Steel will raise US$275 mn through external commercial borrowings (ECBs). It will have an interest rate of Libor + 4 per cent a year .(BL)

HCL Infosystems has bagged a Rs2.78bn laptop contract from the Tamil Nadu Government.(BL)

Mahindra Satyam has set up a US$50-mn joint investment fund in association with SBI Holdings, the Japanese venture capital firm, to invest in companies that hold promise.(BL)

The Director-General of Civil Aviation has asked Kingfisher Airlines to submit a revised operating schedule based on the number of aircraft it is actually in a position to operate.(BL)

Sun Pharma, which was slapped with a US$960mn damage notice by US-based Wyeth over the launch of the generic Protonix, may settle for an out-of-court settlement.(BS)

Tata Motors will double investments in its Jaguar Land Rover brands to pound 1.5 bn a year, even as it warned that it will be a challenge to sustain high margins at its key profit generator.(BS)

Bajaj Auto is expecting to substitute 15-20 % of the current three wheeler model with its upcoming four wheeler RE60 variant in Ahmedabad.(BS)

Muthoot Capital Services Ltd (MCSL), a Non Banking Finance Company (NBFC) arm of Muthoot Pappachan Group focusing on automobile financing, is planning to infuse around Rs.7bn by end of fiscal 2012-13, targeting a total Asset Under Management (AUM) of around Rs.10bn.(BS)

LVMH Watch & Jewellery, which sells Tag Heuer, Dior and Zenith watches in India, plans to strengthen its focus on women by bringing in a bigger range of watches for women and also a new brand ambassador from Hollywood, a top official said.(ET)

Reliance Realty, part of the Anil Ambani group, is knocking on the doors of rich investors for raising a real estate fund that will have the innovative structure of a limited liability partnership (LLP) with investors as partners.(ET)

Economy Snippets
The Reserve Bank of India will consider a further reduction in banks’ reserve requirements to help ease tight cash conditions, said deputy governor Subir Gokarn.(ET)

Foreign banks in India should set aside 40% of their total loan portfolio for priority sector, bringing them at par with the mandatory requirement of domestic lenders, according to the recommendations of Nair Committee report.(ET)

India released its first national measure of retail inflation on Tuesday, filling a vital gap in data collation.
The composite index, which aggregates rural and urban indices, showed consumer prices rose 7.65% in January from a year ago.(ET)

A consensus to implement the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail trade is being worked out, the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, said.(BL)