Blackstone picks up 97.9% in Agile Electric for Rs 600 cr

Chennai: Blackstone Group has acquired a 97.9 per cent stake in Chennai-based Agile Electric Sub Assembly Pvt Ltd for about Rs 600 crore.

Following the deal, the US-based private equity investor will also control a 58 per cent stake in Igarashi Motors India, a listed subsidiary of Agile Electric.

Blackstone and other investors will have to make an open offer to Igarashi shareholders.

According to a BSE notification by Igarashi, Agile Electric and certain shareholders of Agile have entered into agreements with investors Blackstone Capital Partners and Blackstone Family Investment Partnership (Cayman).

Agile Electric is a manufacturer of building machinery, assembly lines and industrial feeders for the automotive industry.

Igarashi Motors was originally a Japanese auto components company before it exited the country. It is currently a subsidiary of Agile Electric and specialises in design and manufacture of DC motors and gear motors.

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Opportunities for foreign players in power exchanges

New Delhi: The Government’s decision to allow foreign direct investment through automatic route in power exchanges while retaining the cap at 49 per cent will open up opportunities for overseas players to participate in the growth and development of the sector, especially the exchanges.

“Introduction of global best practices, especially in the areas of technology, products, modern management skills etc, as a result of foreign collaboration are expected to lead to higher service standards at power exchanges,” said Pawan Kumar Agarwal, CFO and Company Secretary of Power Exchange India Ltd.

The share of power exchanges in the total short-term market has more than doubled over the last five years.

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Italian luxury brand Furla to expand its presence in India

New Delhi: Italian high-end accessories brand Furla plans to expand its presence in the Indian market once the government clears its joint venture with Genesis Luxury Fashion, a top official said.

"We are yet to get a go ahead from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board of India to have a joint venture here. The moment it happens, our investments will be made at a super-fast speed," Eraldo Poletto, CEO of the Italian firm, told ET. Poletto, 51, was in Delhi on an official visit.

Furla, known for its handbags and shoes, has sought the government's approval to operate single-brand retail outlets through a 51:49 joint venture with Gurgaon-based Genesis, which currently runs two Furla stores as a franchisee and plans to open a third one in either Kolkata or Bangalore.

The joint venture plans to invest about Rs 13 crore in the first four years to open stores, with Furla bringing in Rs 6.6 crore, according to the application submitted to FIPB.

Poletto sees India as a unique market where one requires a lot of patience to establish a brand in the minds of people and expect financial returns. "The value of time here is different from anywhere else in the world," he said. "I think a brand has to wait to evolve in India, but once it does the growth is faster." He expects Furla stores in India to break even in 2-3 years of operations.

The Bologna-based, family-owned brand is on an aggressive expansion drive in Asia. Earlier this year it announced a joint venture with China's Fung Group to open 100 boutiques there in four years.

Japan is Furla's biggest market, accounting for 27% of its total sales, ahead of home market Italy that contributes 25% of the firm's turnover. The company reported 18% jump in its turnover last calendar at 212 million (approx Rs 1,650 crore).

"Asia (excluding Japan) is around 13% of the total business and we have very aggressive plans to become much bigger in the next two years," Poletto said. Furla is present in more than 90 countries with about 325 single-brand stores. It produces about 2.5 million pieces every year, mostly in Italy. Some items sourced from China as well.

When asked about India as a sourcing destination, Poletto said Furla did buy some jewellery and accessories from India some time back, but not at the moment. "India is competitive if we use Indian leather but it is different from the kind of products we do," he said.

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L&T bags Rs 2,085-cr order to construct expressway in Oman

Mumbai: The transportation infrastructure business of L&T has bagged an order worth Rs 2,085 crore from the Transport Ministry of Oman for the construction of the Al Batinah Expressway package 4.

The project is scheduled for completion in 36 months and involves building a 50-km, four-lane dual carriage expressway, two grade-separated interchanges, seven overpasses and five bridges.

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Dutch firm inks services pact with Maheshwari Electronics

Bangalore: The Netherlands-based Exset B.V. and Bangalore-based Maheshwari Electronics and Cable TV Pvt Ltd (Maheshwari Electronics) have partnered to tap the digitisation landscape across South India.

“As the country goes into the final phases of digitisation, this partnership will ensure delivery of service and a next generation content protection system to the cable fraternity in the region,” said Anil Kabra, Managing Director of Maheshwari Electronics.

Under the agreement, Exset B.V. will be responsible for providing DMS, CAS and Middleware to customers/cable operators of Maheshwari Electronics for its Digital Cable Platform.

This association aims to drive governance, television commerce, advertising and magazine services in a predominantly one–way environment for its end–consumers.

DMS will allow Maheshwari Electronics to offer new services to its customers in a one-way broadcast environment; these could include magazine, shopping, Government apps.

Alex Borland, Managing Director and CEO, Exset B.V. said, “We are proud to be associated with Maheshwari Electronics as their content protection and monetisation partner. This reinforces our commitment to the last cable operator wanting to digitise and I am glad and proud that an able partner like them has joined hands with us.”

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Electrotherm launches advanced induction furnace unit

Hyderabad: Equipment-maker for steel industry Electrotherm (India) has launched an advanced induction furnace unit that provides for simultaneous dephosphorisation and desulphrisation.

Dephosphorisation and desulphrisation are important in steel-making as high content of phosphorus and sulphur makes steel very brittle.

The Bureau of Indian Standards’ new rules on limiting phosphorus and sulphur in steel will come into force from October 1, 2013.

“Our new product, EldFOS, will help secondary steel manufacturers to comply with the new BIS rules and also international standards,’’ Sharat Chojar, General Manager, Electrotherm, told newspersons here on Tuesday.

The Ahmedabad-based company had also applied for patent on the product recently, he added.

There are about 2,500 induction steel units in the country. “Out of this, 800 use our equipment," he added.

The steel production in India was 76 million tonnes during 2012-13 and 25 million tonnes of this was produced through secondary route using induction furnaces.

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Steel Minister leads a delegation to Canada for acquisition of minerals

RINL inks MOU with Mc Master University to strengthen R&D
New Delhi: A High Level delegation led by the Union Minister of Steel Shri Beni Prasad Verma, currently on a week-long tour to Canada, reached Toronto on 15th July with an objective to have cooperation between organizations of both the countries for sourcing/acquisition of minerals, viz. coking coal and iron ore, as a long term perspective for sustained growth of Indian Steel industry. Acquisition of intellectual property and cooperation in R&D activities are also part of the agenda.

On the first day of the visit, the delegation concluded an MoU between RINL and McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada, to collaborate and strengthen Research cooperation, in the areas of Steel making, Beneficiation and Pellet making from low grade magnetite and also towards training, exchange of research, etc. An MoU got signed by Sri A P Choudhary, CMD, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), with Dr Peter Mascher, McMaster University on 16th July.

Shri Beni Prasad Verma mentioned that such cooperation with leading University will strengthen R&D activities in steel sector which is a must to achieve Government’s planned level of over 200 million tonnes of capacity during next few years. On a query by a Canadian organization about export of iron ore from India, Sri Beni Prasad Verma mentioned that Government has already taken action which has resulted in sharp decline of exports by 75%. He also mentioned that although India has rich reserves of iron ore, it is opportune time for Indian steel industry to acquire more iron ore mines to meet the requirement of next generation, the country being populous.

Shri Verma is also visiting mineral rich State of British Columbia and will have discussions with the Premier of British Columbia and other concerned Ministers and organizations on the subject during the visit.

The Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Shri DRS Chaudhary and Joint Secretary (Steel) Sri Lokesh Chandra are also accompanying the Minister as part of the delegation.

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