News Capsules

•Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail has put in bids to acquire two of Henkel India’s soap brands, a sign of the big ambitions it has in the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) business. Any deal for the male deodorant soap Aramusk and Moloy sandalwood soap, put up for sale late last year, is estimated to be worth about Rs 10 crore. The Henkel brands are unlikely to generate significant revenues at the national level, but they are attractive buys locally, especially in the eastern part of the country.
• Anil Ambani group firms — Reliance Communications (RCom) and Reliance Power —restructured their respective promoter holdings through transfer of shares among group companies. RCom said one of its promoters AAA Communication has transferred over 9.51 crore shares or 4.61 per cent stake through inter-group transactions to each of AAA Industries and ADA Enterprises and Venture.
• Britannia Industries, is set to stage a comeback into the packaged milk business, four years after it exited this segment. The company, which closed last fiscal with a top line of close to Rs 3,500 crore, is expected to play in the ready-to-drink flavoured milk market targeted at youth, instead of the mass packaged milk segment. Britannia declined to comment in this regard. Industry estimates indicate this market is valued at close to Rs 750 crore. Amul, the Gujarat-based milk cooperative, is the largest player, with around 70 per cent market share.
• Wockhardt, which has close to Rs 3,400 crore in debt, today said that the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process in the company is likely to be over in the next four to six weeks.
• Even as fears of Maytas Infra Limited losing the Hyderabad metro rail project are looming large, banks have reportedly asked the company to comply with certain conditions to secure the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package.
• S Kumars is set to acquire Hartmarx, the American clothing company and the suit makers of President Barack Obama, for $119 million. Hartmarx, the men's largest formal wear clothing company in the US, had recently announced that 50 of its wholly-owned US subsidiaries had filed for protection under the local bankruptcy code.
• In a move aimed at stemming declining losses and generating funds for Indian operations, Chennai-based entertainment company Pyramid Saimira Theatre Ltd (PSTL) has put its businesses and assets in the US and Malaysia up for sale.
• Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd has finalised financial closure for their Rs 1,500 crore expansion plan, to add 2,000 beds. Of the Rs 1,500 crore plan, Rs 500 crore has already been invested in 2008-09 to acquire lands and for adding 200 beds (to make a total of 7,450). In 2009-10, the group will add another 844 beds. The remaining part of the plan would be done by 2010-11.