Joining the rush of companies looking for spectrum, BPL Mobile has applied for a unified access service licence in 21 of the country's 23 telecom circles.
The Essar group has also closed down 275 outlets across the country. The two companies could not withstand 'unfair competition' from government-backed companies which are compensated for selling fuel at subsidised rates.
The British teleco is bidding hard for cellular operator Hutchison Essar. At stake: the world's fastest growing mobile market-and Vodafone's reputation.
Rival bidders Vodafone and Reliance Communications are studying the possibility of taking an indirect route to acquire control of Hutchison Essar to skirt the right of first refusal claimed by the Essar group.
Director General of Civil Aviation Kanu Gohain signed the papers in New Delhi granting permission to the Tata Group for the helipad atop the Taj Wellington Mews -- a luxury hotel -- for private use.
In the last three months, attrition of the company has come down by 25 per cent. The company's attrition on an average ranges from 38 to 58 per cent annually.
Sources close to the development said senior executives of these three companies recently visited the facilities of Stelco, which was put on the block last month.
BPL Mobile is exploring options to hive off its tower business into a separate company and is embarking on a capacity addition initiative
The potential entrants include the Essar Group, Punj Lloyd, Larsen & Toubro, real estate developer Atlanta, Hyderabad-based Nagarjuna Construction and Delhi-based DS Constructions.
Vodafone chief executive Arun Sarin has arrived in the country to attend Hutch-Essar's board meeting slated to take place on Friday.
Essar Group plans to invest $500 million (Rs 2,000 crore) to scale up the annual production capacity of its recently acquired Canadian steel company Algoma to 4 million tonne in three years from the existing 2.5 million tonne.
Indian conglomerate Essar group is understood to have initiated discussions for acquiring 50 per cent stake in a Kenyan refinery from international oil players as part of its move for a global footprint. The refinery in Mombasa, in which the government of Kenya owns a 50 per cent stake, has an annual production capacity of about four million tonnes.
Sources said one would have to reinforce the building foundation to adjust the weight of helipad and helicopter if helibase is built on rooftop with concrete.
Aegis BPO Services, an Essar Group business process outsourcing (BPO) company, is close to acquiring an 8,000-seater BPO firm in the Philippines. The exact size of the deal is not clear.Aegis has been bullish on inorganic growth as its races to reach a turnover of $500 million (around Rs 2,000 crore) by 2010.
They turned a small family construction business into a conglomerate with interests in shipping, steel, oil and gas.
A day after Vodafone announced its $11.1 billion acquisition of Hutchison's equity holding in Hutch-Essar, India's fourth largest mobile service provider, it received an unsolicited advice from the Egyptian CEO of Orascom, Naguib Sawiris.
R C Bhargava, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw & Dinesh K Sarraf are other members of the business delegation
Ruias-controlled Essar group on Thursday said it will delist its two steel and oil arms from stock exchanges to gain more flexibility in running the companies.
The steel-to-telecom conglomerate Essar group has roped in London-based creative and consultancy firm, Start Creative, to create a new brand identity.
The group intends to emerge as a consumer-oriented group, shedding its existing heavy industries tag.
The Essar group-owned company's agreement with the Bangalore-based BPL group, which owns the brand through its flagship firm, had expired on March this year.
The UK group bought a 52 per cent stake in the Indian company in May, which is now called Vodafone Essar. Mumbai-based Essar Group owns 33 per cent, with Asim Ghosh, Vodafone Essar managing director, and Indian businessman Analjit Singh owning the remaining 15 per cent.
Ashok Piramal Group company Peninsula Land has inked a property deal worth Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) with Essar Realty Holdings, the realty arm of the Essar Group, to sell and lease premises at its upcoming IT park named Peninsula Technopark on LBS Marg in Kurla. The deal was signed recently, according to sources.
The Essar group firm is in talks with 7-10 companies for a "strategic fit", as it races to become a $500 million company by 2010. In some of these cases the due diligence process is in progress. Aegis is looking at firms in the US, South America and the Philippines.
Essar Group's Shashi and Ravi Ruia are the only new entrants in the list of the 10 richest Indians compiled by Forbes, while banker Uday Kotak jumped the most number of places among the top 40 billionaires. The Ruias jumped five places to the 7th position with a net worth of $12 billion, while Kotak with $4.6 billion hopped 11 positions to the 16th rank.
Ruias owned Essar Steel on Monday announced that they have agreed to acquire Canadian Algoma Steel for an aggregate value of Canadian $1.8 billion (approx. US $1.58 billion) to be paid in cash.
Hutchison Telecom International Ltd, the Hong-Kong based parent of Hutchison that operates the Hutch-Essar JV in India with Essar group, has said the termination of BPL Mobile Mumbai circle merger deal by its Indian partner was wrong.
Sterling Infotech Group and Hutchison Essar Group have terminated the agreement, which contemplated acquisition of Sterling's Aircel and Aircel Cellular by Aircel Digilink India, a part of the Hutch Group.
A consortium of Gujarat State Petroleum Corp and Mumbai-based Essar Group has bid for an oil and gas exploration block in Syria.
Official sources said the proposal of Essar, which was seeking to increase its equity held through foreign subsidiaries by 6.26 per cent to 22.04 per cent has been approved.
This delay was a result of controversies over a 15 per cent holding by Hutchison-Essar Managing Director Asim Ghosh, healthcare major Max's Analjit Singh and financial institution IDFC.
The Essar group-owned BPL Mobile is believed to be seeking an extension to use the 'BPL' brand name that is owned by Bangalore-based industrialist TPG Nambiar
The company would also increase its head count by ten fold to 10,000 in the next three years from the current 1000.
The transaction will lead to an open offer for minority holders.
Which chief minister sat bare-footed, his feet on his chappals, at the Make In India jamboree as he pitched his state as an attractive investment destination to domestic and global investors?
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