Crompton Greaves offers Videocon Rs1,440 crore for Kenstar
Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd has offered to pay around Rs1,440 crore to buy home appliances brand Kenstar from Videocon group, two people directly aware of the talks said. But the deal hinges on a “sustainable sales guarantee” clause that private equity-backed Crompton Greaves Consumer wants to include in the final agreement, the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
Hindustan Unilever will not hike prices this quarter: CFO P.B. Balaji
Hindustan Unilever Ltd, India’s largest consumer packaged goods company by sales, has cut the prices of its detergent bars and soaps on the assumption that it will benefit from input tax credit under the goods and services tax (GST). A month into the new indirect tax regime, P.B. Balaji, chief financial officer at HUL, has his task cut out—ensuring that the assumptions made prior to the rollout of GST are realized. “The next 3-6 months will be about extremely meticulous, detailed work,” he said in an interview.
Sebi cracks the whip on 331 suspected shell companies
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday directed stock exchanges to initiate action against 331 listed entities suspected of being shell companies. Of them, 162 were actively traded; 169 had already been suspended.
Some of these companies immediately protested against the regulator’s move, pointing to their operating and dividend-paying track record, and said they would seek a legal opinion.
GST breather for Railways; no tax on transfer of goods for self-consumption
In a welcome break for the Indian Railways, no goods and services tax (GST) will be applicable on inter- or intra-state transfer of equipment/materials (without transfer of title) for self-consumption. This is a major relief for the railways, with annual internal consumption estimated to be about Rs 20,000 crore. In a notification to field units on July 11, the railways said, “Transfer of goods/stores from one state/Union Territory (UT) to another state/UT is considered to be an exempted activity.” The notification cited section 7 (1) of the CGST Act 2017, along with clause 1(b) the Schedule II of the CGST Act, 2017 for the said exemption.
Airtel gets Rs 2,570 crore from Infratel stake sale
As it aims to take on Reliance Jio and reduce its debt, Airtel, the country’s top mobile telephone operator, has sold 67.53 million shares in its tower subsidiary, Bharti Infratel, for Rs 2,570 crore. This March, it had sold 10.3 per cent stake in Infratel for Rs 6,190 crore. The latest sale was through wholly owned subsidiary, Nettle Infrastructure Investments, through a secondary share sale, at Rs 380.6 a share.
Trai to start consultation process on data ownership
Trai will shortly begin a consultation process to address the issues of ownership, privacy, and security of data which flows through the network of telcos. “The consultation will be on data security, ownership and data privacy in the telecom sector. The fundamental question is of ownership of data, and who has the final right to a user’s data,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) chairman RS Sharma told ET.
Idea Cellular seeks NCLT nod for merger with Vodafone India
Mobile operator Idea Cellular on Tuesday said it has sought approval of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for the merger of its operations with Vodafone India. Idea’s move comes after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and exchanges gave their conditional nod to the proposed $ 23-billion merger deal that would create the country’s largest telecom operator.
Insolvency proceedings: National Company Law Tribunal reserves order in Era Infra case
The Principal bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in New Delhi on Tuesday reserved its order in the insolvency proceedings against Era Infra Engineering filed by Union Bank of India. The bench said it will decide on “jurisdictional issues” of the case given several winding-up petitions against Era were pending before the Delhi High Court. “The order on the jurisdictional issue is reserved,” Ahasan Ahmad, counsel for Union Bank of India, said, adding that there were 18 winding-up petitions pending against the company.
Note ban: Supreme Court seeks response on Tamil Nadu based cooperative bank plea
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought a response from the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and others on a petition filed by Villupuram District Central Cooperative Bank, seeking permission to deposit Rs 21.56 crore in demonetised Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. The Tamil Nadu-based co-op bank claimed that the amount was held by it as cash in hand at the close of business hour on November 8, 2016, the day the Prime Minister in a televised address to the nation had declared that high denomination notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 will no longer be legal tender so as to curb black money and corruption. A bench led by Chief Justice J S Khehar, while issuing notice to the government, the RBI and the National Bank for Agricultural and Rural development, also tagged the petition with similar pleas pending before it.
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