Advertisement: Free Passes For HeadStart Summer 2009

Three free passes for Headstart Summer 2009 are on offer for MediaNama readers. Please email your name, company, and contact details to rakesh@medianama.com with “Headstart Summer 2009″ as the subject. Randomly selected winners will be announced tomorrow. Entrepreneurs from all over the country would come under one roof at HeadStart Summer 2009, some presenting themselves, some [...]

Reliance Offers Free Phone Calls Via Goforit.co.in

Reliance is aiming at reaching nearly 45-55 percent of the Indian online users in the next three to four weeks. It would use ad networks like Network Play, Komli Media and Tribal Fusion and several other websites for close to 250 million ad ...

ETNow Soft Lauched By Bccl; Where’s Their Website ETNow.tv?

Joining the ranks of business news channels on July 2 is ET Now from Times Global Broadcasting, a subsidiary of Bennet & Coleman Co Ltd (BCCL); the channel went live on cable yesterday. According to our sources, it is expected to be launched on DTH by the beginning of July. This means that ET Now will have [...]

News Roundup: Unitech May Be Mulling a Second QIP to Raise $300 Mn

Fortis Leads Race for Wockhardt Hospitals - Fortis Healthcare, which is owned by former Ranbaxy promoters Malvinder Singh and Shivinder Singh, has emerged as the lead bidder to acquire a part of Wockhardt Hospitals. Fortis became the front-runner after the Chennai-based Apollo Hospitals Group retracted its plans to buy three of the 12 hospitals owned by Wockhardt Chairman Habil Khorakiwala and family.The deal with Fortis, either for buying two-three hospitals or picking up a minority stake of about 25%, may happen within 3-4 weeks. (The Economic Times) Unitech May Be Mulling a Second QIP For Raising Around $300 Million- Real estate giant Unitech, which raised $325 million through a QIP in April, may be mulling another QIP to raise around $250-300 million. The company is learnt to have taken a shareholders approval on the matter in its last EGM just two days ago. Unitech’s current promoter holding is 51% and the company has an allotment of 22.75 crore warrants that is convertible in the next 18 months. Post the warrant conversion, the stake could go up from 51% to 56%. If Unitech goes for a second QIP, the company will have to issue 22 crore shares to maintain its promoter holding at 51%. Unitech has an approval to issue upto 100 crore shares. (MoneyControl.com) Wockhardt Sells its German Subsidiary - Debt-ridden Wockhardt Ltd today said it had sold its German subsidiary Esparma to Mova GmbH, a subsidiary of German drug major Lindopharm. Although the company did not disclose the deal size, sources said it was worth Rs 120 crore. The sale of the German subsidiary is a part of the company’s restructuring strategy that involves raising of fresh capital by divesting its smaller operations and non-core businesses. (Business Standard) Govt may sell 10% in CIL - In a bid to restart the disinvestment process, the government is planning to sell up to 10% of its stake in the state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL), the country’s largest coal producer. The move is a part of a government’s proposal, where proceeds from the stake sale of major public sector undertakings (PSUs) will be used to bridge the fiscal deficit. (Business Standard) Skidata forms JV with Mumbai's Hinditron - Austria-based Skidata AG, a part of the Swiss francs 1-billion (around Rs 4,400 crore) Kudelski Group of Switzerland, has formed a joint venture (JV) with Mumbai-based Hinditron group to provide access technology for cars and people in India. Skidata will have a 49% stake in the company, Skidata India, with Hinditron owning the remaining 51%. Skidata also has an option to gain a majority stake of Skidata India by acquiring a further 2% from Hinditron over the next two years. The JV will focus on the domestic market and Saarc region. (Business Standard) Hindalco May Buy Australian Coal Mine for Rs 385 Crore - Hindalco Industries is close to acquiring a coal mine in Queensland, Australia, in a deal estimated at $70-$80 million (about Rs 336-385 crore). The flagship of the Aditya Birla group, which has been scouting for coal mines in Queensland for some time, is reliably learnt to have shortlisted one mine in the region with reserves of around 120 million tonnes. (The Economic Times) Tata Comm May Sell 26% Stake in Internet Arm - Tata Communications may sell a minority stake in its unit, Tata Communications Internet Services (TCISL), as it looks to rope in a strategic partner with proven experience in WiMax operations to bolster its capabilities in the emerging wireless technology. The company, which operates one of the largest undersea cable networks in the world that carry voice and data traffic across continents, may sell a 26% stake in its wholly-owned subsidiary. Companies, such as South Korea Telecom, Korea Telecom and US-based Sprint Nextel, were already in talks to partner the Indian firm. (The Economic Times) Michelin to Invest Rs 7,000 Crore in India - Michelin & Cie, the world’s second-largest tyre maker, is looking to invest up to Rs 7,000 crore ($1.48 billion) in India over a 10-year period to make and market radial tyres and tubes in the country. The French tyre giant has sought government approval to acquire 100% stake in a new company Michelin India Tamil Nadu Tyres formed in April 2009. This company will set up the proposed greenfield unit, which would absorb investment worth Rs 4,000 crore in the first phase running into 2016. (The Economic Times) 

Fropper Business Head Navin Mittal Moves On

Navin Mittal, Business Head of People Interactive’s social networking business Fropper is moving on. Mittal told MediaNama that he’s decided to try doing something else - probably his family business of textiles and commodity trading. As yet, he has no plans for the Internet space, though he will visit Fropper offices occasionally. People Group CMD Anupam [...]

Royal Enfield’s TwinSpark ‘Leaves Home’ on a focussed media plan

The New Thunderbird TwinSpark ‘Leave Home’ campaign is based on the obvious insight of the ‘mommy’s boy’ in Indian society. The campaign hopes to break away from the clutter within the category of the 100cc bike advertising. Interestingly it is both thought-provoking and relevant in today’s social context. While Wieden & Kennedy has penned this TVC, it is produced by Red Ice films, Mumbai. The campaign is on air in theatres across South, and is soon to be aired in the Northern region as well.

Mobile will fuel the future of search engine marketing in India

Mobile will fuel the future of search engine marketing in Indiaexchange4media.com, IndiaVishal Sampat, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Convonix Inc, added, “Web 2.0 is all about conversation. But at the end of the day a lot of people go to search before buying a product. Social media and search engine marketing can go hand-in-hand. ...

See Through Frog – Glass Frog Uncovered

An expedition to the pristine forests of Ecuador near the Peruvian border uncovered 12 new species, including a salamander that Conservation International.The discoveries in the Nangaritza region of the Cordillera del Condor included what the researchers termed a “remarkably ugly bug-eyed salamander,” a red poison arrow frog and a frog smaller than a “pinky” fingernail. A lizard, a third frog and seven grasshoppers also were among the newly found creatures.   

We have an IPO and its not a PSU and its not a Reliance offspring either

When everybody is too busy letting others go and when everybody is too busy rising funds in alternate routes one company has led the way for the rest to follow. I thought that company would be a PSU. But boy was I mistaken. It is Mahindra Holidays which is coming out with an IPO on [...]

A New Channel Is Born: ET Now Goes On Air With ‘The Economic Times Advantage’

After a rather long wait, ET Now, the fourth English business news channel in India, went on air this morning as part of a phased rollout and is available on some of the major cable networks. ET Now is broadcast by Times Global Broadcasting Co. Ltd, a subsidiary of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd, which publishes The Economic Times, India’s largest business daily. ET Now will be up against CNBC TV18, the incumbent market leader in the space, which has defined and dominated the segment for several years now. The other players in the market are NDTV Ltd’s NDTV Profit and UTVi from UTV Software Communications Ltd. According to audience research firm TAM Media Research, in April, CNBC TV18 had a 66% market share in the business news segment, while NDTV Profit had 25% and UTVi, 9%.