A load of crap from an idle brain

Been a while since i updated my equity portfolio.  Some of the stocks were already at their highs; and i felt it was appropriate time for me to liquidate them and invest in others.

Bought the following

Sold the following

Hoping for the markets to correct sharply once the much expected double dip recession hits the US economy.  There would be lots of great bargains out there then.

Above stock price history courtesy:  Yahoo Finance

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The Indian economy roared past estimates to post a whopping growth rate of 8.6% in the January-March quarter of 2010. The quarter’s strong showing also helped India end the fiscal year with 7.4% growth, beating the earlier estimate of 7.2%. Manufacturing led the way, with a whopping 16.3% growth in the quarter and 10.8% overall, while even agriculture, which was expected to decline, ended with marginal growth of 0.2% year-on-year after growing 0.7% in Q4.

The GDP growth rate had slowed to 6.7% in 2008-09 following the global economic crisis, after topping 9% in the previous three years. On Monday, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee reiterated his confidence that the economy would grow at 8.5%-plus in 2010-11.

Finance secretary Ashok Chawla also pegged economic growth at 8.5% in 2010-11. “The growth numbers are pleasant but not really surprising, because we were expecting them to be robust which they turned out to be. This clearly indicates the momentum which is in the economy and the expectations that the 8.5% estimation for 2010-11 is going to be a clear possibility,” he said.

Full article here

Above picture courtesy: Moneymint

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Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) said that it had entered into an agreement to buy Argentina-based Issue Group for an undisclosed amount. The latter has a strong leadership position in the Argentine hair-colour market with a market share in excess of 20% and had revenues of over $33 million in 2009.

Apart from Argentina, the Issue Group enjoys market leadership position in hair colours in Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay including a presence in Brazil.

The deal estimated to be around Rs.230 crore provides a self-sustaining platform for GCPL’s ambitions in haircare and household insecticides segments in Latin America, GCPL said.

Full article here

Jindal Steel and Power (JSPL) on Thursday announced the acquisition of the Oman-based Shadeed Iron & Steel for $464 million.

Its project at Sohar in the sultanate is setting up capacity to produce 1.5 million tonnes of hot briquetted iron a year.

The Indian company’s director, Sushil Maroo, told media the acquisition was part of plans to expand operations overseas. “The Sohar plant is a gas-based unit. We are also setting up some gas-based steel units. It is a strategic fit for us,” he added. The acquisition was made through JSPL’s subsidiary, Jindal Steel & Power Mauritius.

Full article here

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Prime Minister Vladimir Putin closed more than $10 billion in agreements with India, increasing Russia’s role as a partner in defense, nuclear energy, aerospace and communications.

“Putin has been the architect of the strategic partnership between India and Russia,” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after meeting with his Russian counterpart in New Delhi today. “Relations with Russia are a key pillar of our foreign policy.”

Putin, in five visits over the past decade, has spearheaded Russia’s effort to revive Cold War-era ties to India and fend off growing competition for defense and energy contracts from the U.S. and Europe. The Kremlin is playing on Indian ambitions to become a global power capable of rivaling China and sending manned missions to outer space.

Russian companies signed more than a dozen deals, including agreements to deliver India’s second aircraft carrier in 2012, build as many as 16 nuclear reactors and sell 29 MiG-29 fighter jets. India also became the first country to win access to military use of Russia’s Glonass navigation network, a rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System. Putin promised to help send India’s first cosmonaut into space in three years and held open the possibility of joint moon exploration.

Full article here

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The world’s fastest growing telecom market, India is getting too hot and competitive for the biggest player Bharti Airtel to handle.  After its aborted attempt to buy South Africa’s MTN which fell through due to regulatory issues, Bharti is now looking in the neighbourhood for an acquisition.

In a shift of strategy, Bharti Airtel, the country’s largest telecom operator, is close to acquiring a 70% stake in Bangladesh’s fourth largest mobile operator, Warid Telecom, for close to $900 million.

The deal, likely to be sealed mid-January, comes three months after Bharti failed to secure a deal with South Africa’s MTN to become the world’s fourth largest mobile firm by subscribers.

Post-deal, management control of Warid Telecom would pass on to Bharti and Bangladeshi media reports say Bharti has submitted an investment plan of $300 million.

Bharti’s costly acquisition plan is an indication of how the stakes have risen in the telecom sector in the sub-continent; the offer is almost three times the $350 million DoCoMo paid in 2008 to buy a 30% stake in Aktel or TM International, the third ranked operator in Bangladesh.

Rest of the article here

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With signs of green shoots showing in economies worldwide, India  Inc’s appetite for overseas acquisitions got a fresh lease of life with Reliance Industries’ estimated $10-12 billion offer for a controlling interest in bankrupt LyondellBasell Industries.

The deal by India’s largest private sector company controlled by Mukesh Ambani, if closed, will make it one of the largest petrochemical outfits in the world. It will also be the second largest overseas acquisition by an Indian company, after Tata Steel bought Corus for $13 billion in 2007.

RIL has enough money power to make the deal happen. It has $4 billion in cash and $8 billion in treasury stocks, besides a favourable 0.35:1 debt-equity ratio. It also raised $660 million through treasury stocks sale recently.

In the year to October, Indian comanies acquired overseas assets worth $586 million, a sharp fall from the $13.06 billion in the same period a year ago, according to data from Grant Thornton Deal Tracker.

HSBC believes outbound activity will bounce back. About 70 per cent of HSBC’s pipeline is outbound transactions, which has remained the same as the previous year’s.

Tarun Kataria, managing director and head of corporate, investment banking and markets at HSBC, says India is sitting on the cusp of rapidly growing cross-border M&A activity.

“Indian firms are now well capitalised, are trading at circa 20x multiples, offshore markets are trading at a discount to India and financing is more readily available to Indian corporates than to competing offshore acquirers.”

Rest of the news here

What the successor has to manage.  A 140 year old group with….

Turnover – $71 billion

Employees – 357,000

Number of companies under the group – 98

To replace – Ratan Tata

Anyone interested / capable ?

India’s Tata conglomerate is looking around the world for a successor to Ratan Tata, the 71-year old chairman of the sprawling salt-to-steel group said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal published on Wednesday.

Local and foreign candidates were being looked at to head the group, which includes Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Power among its 27 listed companies

“We are in the process of formalising a successor to me. We have some outside consultants and a formal search process is on. There are no constraints,” Tata, who has steered the group for nearly two decades, said in the interview.

The successor could be from within the group or outside, Tata said, adding he hoped the person would carry on the growth path that had been set. All but one of the group’s past chairmans have been Tatas, although at the moment no family candidate has been publicly identified to take over the role.

“It would certainly be easier if that candidate were an Indian national. But now that 65 percent of our revenues come from overseas, it could also be an expatriate sitting in that position with justification now,” Tata said.

The group, founded in 1868, runs India’s top vehicle maker, top software services firm, top private sector power producer and the world’s eighth-largest steel maker by output.

Full news here

Wipro, India’s No. 3 software services exporter, said on Thursday it had agreed to buy some personal care businesses of Yardley for about $45.5 million, adding to its consumer goods business.

Wipro said it had signed an agreement with UK-based Lornamead group, which owns the Yardley brand, for the businesses in Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and some African markets. The transaction is expected to be completed by mid-December, it said in a statement.

Lornamead’s global turnover is estimated to be close to $650 million. Its portfolio straddles various categories of personal care products including hair-care (Brisk, Aqua Net and Vosene), cosmetics and skin-care (Amplex and Handsan), oral care (Brilliant and Goldspot) and home care brand Stergene.

Tura is a significant player in soaps and skin care in Nigeria, with an annual turnover of close to $50 million.

This is Wipro’s second big buy-out in the FMCG space in two years. In July 2007, Wipro had acquired Singapore-based personal care products manufacturer Unza Holdings Ltd for $246 million (Rs 1,010.2 crore) in an all-cash deal. That deal with Unza’s portfolio of shampoos, creams, lotions and detergents had marked Wipro’s big plunge into the global FMCG space.

Full article here

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