BlackBerry has signed a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence, it said in a statement.
Cleaner balance sheets, regulatory support and strong growth prospects helped Indian private banks attract over $6 billion in foreign capital, with more deals expected in 2026.
In Debasish Panda's last board meeting as chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai), the regulator approved the "R2" licence for Kamlesh Goyal and Prem Watsa-backed Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector Indian reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer. "The authority reviewed and approved the R2 application of Value Attics Reinsurance, making it the first private-sector reinsurer after GIC Re, the public-sector reinsurer.
BlackBerry co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Douglas Fregin are considering a bid to buy the struggling smartphone maker, according to a securities filing on Thursday, raising the prospect of an alternative to a $4.7 billion offer led by its top shareholder.
The collapse of Thomas Cook in the UK has no impact whatsoever in terms of ownership, business, people, technology or processes to us at Thomas Cook India: Madhavan Menon, chairman & managing director, TCIL.
Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa, the founder, chairman and chief executive of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, is often called the Warren Buffett of Canada for his ability to spot investment opportunities ahead of others and turn around non-performing enterprises.
The investors also have an option to purchase additional $250 million worth of debentures in 30 days.
V Prem Watsa, the India-born billionaire and promoter-chairman of Toronto-based Fairfax Financial Holdings, a $30-billion plus insurance and investment company, is often referred to as the "Canadian Buffett," a reference to the famous billionaire founder of Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffett.
UK-based travel services provider Thomas Cook Group plc will sell for Rs 817.4 crore (Rs 8.17 billion) its entire 77 per cent holding in the Indian arm to Fairbridge Capital (Mauritius) Ltd, a subsidiary of Fairfax Financial Holdings.
Fairfax Financial Holdings made three investments in a month
The company plans to raise $1 billion with a private placement of convertible debentures.
The IIT-Madras alumnus, who moved to Canada for an MBA programme and settled there, is not new to investing in India.
He has been a long time Blackberry fan and user.
Trust today means more than the belief that a brands' products will work as advertised; consumers want to believe that the company truly cares for its customers.
This will trigger an open offer under SEBI norms and TCIL will seek to buy up to 26 per cent in Sterling for Rs 230 crore.
Over the last few days, as the fortunes of Thomas Cook Plc took a wrong turn, the Indian entity scrambled to distance itself from its erstwhile parent. Experts have said that the travel firm must not change its brand name.
Bidders eyeing parts of Canadian smartphone maker than the whole company, say sources
'India has many attractive features for the long-term investor; it combines: A low per capita income, a young population, and a heavier presence of high margin, asset-light firms in the technology sector.'
Months before Fairfax Financial Holdings Inc bid $4.7 billion for BlackBerry Ltd, Fairfax boss Prem Watsa played a role in securing a golden parachute worth as much as $55 million for the smartphone maker's chief executive.
This was because his wife Anu was not able to join him in Seattle, due to the existing US law that said if a green card holder marries, his/her spouse's visa is rejected.
Airports hold pride of place in the government's National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) programme to monetise public assets. Private airport operators, including the Adani group, Fairfax, GMR and Zurich Airport, are expected to evince interest in the next round of public private partnership (PPP) development of state-owned Airport Authority of India (AAI) airports. Industry analysts, however, do not expect bids to be as high as the last round, which saw Adani group gain control of six airports.
The S&P BSE Sensex ended down 371 points at 24,966 and the Nifty50 closed 101 points lower at 7,615.
June was a memorable month for the 101-year-old Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB). Last month, the Thoothukudi-based bank witnessed two new landmarks in a history in which the last three decades could easily qualify for a Kollywood blockbuster.
The rating was downgraded despite 25 per cent held by stronger partner Indian Hotels, which operates the company's seven properties in India.
Nearly half of the investments by various US-based investors have been made in Reliance subsidiary Jio.
For FY21, CSB is looking at growth of around 25 per cent and is confident of doubling it in two years. And it is also exploring options to acquire a mid-size bank with a good client base and branches in the north to acquire an all-India presence.
'It's a toss-up between a fire sale of equity or merger with a strong bank,' points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
Bhargav Dasgupta, managing director and chief executive officer of ICICI Lombard, tells Subrata Panda, in an interview that the company has adequate capital for now and does not see a need for fresh infusion through markets over the next few years.
The government has made it much harder for tycoons to get special dispensations from Delhi
The coming years could be exciting for Bandhan Bank, IDBI Bank, IDFC First Bank, Federal Bank, and CSB Bank.
Amidst a resurgent COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 100 million people have already cast their ballots in early voting, putting the country on course for its highest turnout in a century. Some 239 million people are eligible to vote this year.
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The Greens are calling for an urgent investigation.
Private equity investing can be rewarding, but an investor needs to be patient as exiting can be tricky and these assets do not provide instant liquidity.
Its obsession for growth, chasing corporate clients and giving up its original mandate of meeting the needs of local trade and businesses. A quarter of its loan book has gone bad. That's an error of business strategy, points out Tamal Bandyopadhyay.
The main concern among industry and market experts is that the governance in these companies needs to be strengthened and the focus on social insurance has to come down.
Unlike in the past, when old private banks compromised upon underwriting standards to take on the bulk, they've now realised that scaling up at the cost of quality isn't worth the while. These banks have also readjusted growth targets when required, and rebalanced books to preserve capital and asset quality.
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