Hindustan Motors Ltd (HML), maker of the iconic Ambassador car, is considering selling its Chennai plant, instead of an earlier proposal to hive it off and merge with a company subsidiary. In view of the delay in the de-merger scheme awaiting the (Calcutta) High Court’s sanction, the company is initiating divestment of the Chennai plant. In the interim period, the company plans to have a working arrangement for the Chennai plant. The earlier plan entailed hiving off the Chennai plant from the company and merging it with HMFCL, a subsidiary. The shareholders at a court-convened meeting in September had considered the proposal. Meanwhile, the company is seeking potential strategic or financial investors for its Uttarpara (West Bengal) and Chennai units. HML is already in talks with a few of them. (Business Line)
3i Infotech plans to sell assets to pay back 20-30% of its debt: The new management of 3i Infotech, a midcap software services firm, has its task cut out: To bring the company back on a growth track. The management plans to repay at least 20-30% of its debt by selling some assets. 3i has restructured debt of Rs 1,300 crore, at 14.75 per cent rate of interest. The company had converted the rupee loan into a dollar loan of $215 million at an interest rate of 6.5% plus three-month London interbank offer rate. Funds through these bonds were raised by the company for acquisition. Till 2009, the company had acquired about 40 firms. (Business Standard)
Air India plans to sell Chennai property: Air India has put on the block a 1.33-acre property in Chennai. The company would sell the property located at Teynampet on the arterial Anna Salai through an e-auction on January 21. According to the advertisement in dailies, the property is suitable for mixed use development, including commercial and residential development. The 57,797-sq.ft property, about 24 grounds (2,400 sq.ft a ground), has evoked keen interest among developers because of its prime location. (Business Line)
Find My Stay to raise up to $8 mn for overseas expansion: Find My Stay, a New Delhi-based start-up that operates a hotel booking website with the same name, is planning to raise a capital of $5-8 million (Rs 31 crore – Rs 49 crore) to launch international inventory and roll out more vanilla offerings during the next calendar year. The company is also in talks with various partners and wholesalers globally to offer more than 100,000 hotels targeting both leisure and business travelers. (Business Standard)
Courtesy: VCCEdge
