BackOpening Bell 7 April | Sun Pharma, Ranbaxy in focus on acquisition deal
Asian markets are trading lower; Sun Pharma to buy Ranbaxy in a $4 billion stock deal, says report
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Mumbai: Asian markets are trading lower with Japan’s Nikkei at 14,823 down 1.6% on selling in shares of industrial and consumer companies. Read more.
The much awaited US payrolls report is out. Payrolls rose 192,000 last month. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists projected a 200,000 gain. The slightly lower than estimated payroll report is providing comfort to market participants. Many believe that slow jobs market recovery will lead to “modest" US Federal Reserve policy action on the economic stimulus.
Over the weekend, US markets closed lower. S&P 500 lost 1.25% to 1,865 on selling in shares of technology companies. Read the Bloomberg report.
Top Indian companies may post revenue growth of more than 10% for the quarter ending 31 March, reports Mint. Brokerages houses that have declared estimates so far expect net profit of the Sensex companies to rise in the range of 7.4-13.2%.
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd will be in the focus. Sun agreed to buy Ranbaxy in a $4 billion stock deal, reports Bloomberg. Ranbaxy shareholders will get 0.8 share in Sun for every one of their shares.
The merger between Holcim Ltd and Lafarge SA could bring the combined entity within striking distance of becoming the largest cement maker in India. Holcim’s two Indian units, ACC Ltd and Ambuja Cements Ltd, have a combined annual capacity of 45 million tonnes (mt). Lafarge has a capacity of 8 mt in the Indian market, reports Mint.
Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) may witness some action. The company reported a 51% fall in provisional net profit for the fiscal year ended 31 March.
State Bank of India Ltd is selling non-performing assets worth ₹ 3,500-4,000 crore for the fiscal year 2013-14 to asset reconstruction companies. The company has total bad assets of ₹ 67,799 crore. Read more.
Tata Steel Ltd is no longer under pressure to sell assets to pare borrowings, reports Mint. Improving demand in the Europe and a new project nearing completion in India may turn the tide for the company.
Coal India Ltd (CIL) has received at least 60 proposals from firms including Anglo-Australian miner Rio Tinto Plc and the GVK Group to buy equity in their coal mines, reports Mint. The GVK Group approached CIL to buy equity in its Australian coal mine
The plans of ONGC Videsh Ltd, (OVL), the overseas arm of Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd, to acquire shale gas assets in the US may hit the skids in the backdrop of the explorer being present in sanctions-hit countries, reports Mint. In another development, OVL plans to raise $2.25 billion through the US and euro bond markets.
ONGC Videsh Ltd., meanwhile, is looking for an equity partner to continue exploration for oil and gas offshore Vietnam. Read more. Also, according to Business Standard, OVL is in talks to offload its stake in Block 128 in South China Sea.
Keep an eye on Mercator Ltd. Investors are in talks with the group to invest ₹ 420-450 crore, reports Business Standard. According to the report, the company wants to use the funds for asset purchases and debt reduction.
Mahindra CIE is working on a strategy to enter major auto markets through a combination of joint ventures and takeovers, reports Mint. The company is in talks with a Japanese company to form a venture.
Gammon Infrastructure Projects Ltd may also see some action. The company has got a stay on Mormugao Port Trust’s decision to terminate its project due to lack of environment clearance, reports The Economic Times.
Lastly, the troubled Hindustan Motors Ltd is pinning hopes on its recent divestment of the Chennai plant and has initiated talks with global automobile firms to set up a joint venture there, reports PTI. The Chennai plant manufactures cars under licence from Mitsubishi Motors of Japan.
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