The Board of Directors of Aditya Birla Retail Limited, in their meeting approved the acquisition of Total Superstore Business, the Retail Division of Jubilant Agri & Consumer Products Limited
Top News
Aditya Birla Retail to acquire Total Superstore Business from Jubilant Agri
The Board of Directors of Aditya Birla Retail Limited, in their meeting approved the acquisition of Total Superstore Business, the Retail Division of Jubilant Agri & Consumer Products Limited (“JACL”).
“The acquisition of Total Undertaking is a good strategic fit for ABRL in terms of its store locations and catchment areas”, avers Mr. Pranab Barua, Business Director, Apparel & Retail Business, The Aditya Birla Group.
In line with the approved transaction, ABRL will acquire in an all cash deal, the leasehold rights for 4 hypermarkets of Total Undertaking in Bangalore, along with movable and immovable assets, a warehouse, an office premise, working capital, trademarks, intellectual property and other rights associated with Total Undertaking by way of a slump sale for a lump sum consideration. Total Superstore business has an aggregate retail footprint of 2.87 lakh sq. ft.
The transaction is subject to the approval of shareholders of JACL and Jubilant Industries Ltd (JIL), the parent company of JACL. Moreover, this transaction is also subject to necessary regulatory approvals including, but not limited to approval from the Competition Commission of India.
Royal Enfield acquires Harris Performance
Royal Enfield, the world’s fastest growing motorcycle manufacturer, has acquired UK based Harris Performance Products Ltd. Established over forty years ago by brothers Steve and Lester Harris and Stephen Bayford, Harris Performance is one of the leading experts in designing and manufacturing of specialised high performance motorcycle chassis and components. Under the terms of the deal, Royal Enfield will acquire all assets, employees, trade names, technical know-how and intellectual property of Harris Performance Products Ltd. Harris Performance has had a long standing relationship with Royal Enfield and was responsible for the chassis development of the brand’s iconic Continental GT café racer model.
Speaking about the acquisition, Siddhartha Lal, CEO Royal Enfield said: “Royal Enfield is working on its new generation of products and platforms; to have the Harris Performance team dedicatedly working with us will clearly enhance our engineering and product design capabilities. Their proven expertise, deep insight and understanding of motorcycling and Royal Enfield will be invaluable for us in our journey towards achieving leadership in the global mid-sized motorcycling segment.”
Alongside successful relationships with the Royal Enfield brand, Harris Performance has been the only manufacturer from UK to have been officially commissioned by Yamaha and Suzuki to design, develop and manufacture race bikes for Grand Prix and World Superbike.
Domestic News
APL Apollo Tubes board approves proposal for amalgamation of Lloyd Line Pipes
APL Apollo Tubes Limited has announced that the Board of Directors in their meeting held on May 9, 2015, approved the proposal for Amalgamation of M/s Lloyd Line Pipes Limited with the Company, in terms of the provisions of Sections 391 to 394 and other applicable provisions of the Companies Act, 1956 (applicable as on date) or any corresponding provisions of the Companies Act, 2013.
The Board had earlier in September 2013, approved the Merger of the said companies, however, due to technical difficulties the same could not be pursued. The board Accepted the resignation of Mr. Aniq Husain, an Independent Director.quarter ended March 31, 2015.
Arvind plans to take over Sephora’s India biz
Arvind is planning to take over the Indian operations of cosmetics and beauty retailer Sephora, according to reports.
Report said that Arvind and Sephora are finalizing a deal giving the former rights to manage operations of the cosmetic retailer in India.
The company is preparing a new plan for Sephora which would give it a much wider footprint of 50 stores in the near future, says report.
. Apax Partners buys 20.37% stake in Shriram City Union Finance
Private equity firm Apax Partners Llp has acquired a 20.37% stake in Shriram City Union Finance Ltd, a unit of Shriram Group, by buying out shares held by TPG Capital, according to a media report.
TPG India Investment sold its 20.37% stake or 1.34 crore shares in Shriram City Union Finance for about Rs. 2,300 crore in an off-market deal to Apax Partners.
The purchase of shares was concluded on Monday by Apax Partners' subsidiary, Dynasty Acquisition (FPI) Ltd, report added.
International News
Verizon to acquire AOL for $4.4bn
Verizon Communications Inc. announced the signing of an agreement to purchase AOL Inc. for $50 per share.
The estimated total value was approximately $4.4 billion.
The agreement will also support and connect to Verizon’s IoT (Internet of Things) platforms, creating a growth platform from wireless to IoT for consumers and businesses.
Lowell McAdam, Verizon chairman and CEO, said: “Verizon’s vision is to provide customers with a premium digital experience based on a global multiscreen network platform. This acquisition supports our strategy to provide a cross-screen connection for consumers, creators and advertisers to deliver that premium customer experience.”
He added, “AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer, and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world. At Verizon, we’ve been strategically investing in emerging technology, including Verizon Digital Media Services and OTT, that taps into the market shift to digital content and advertising. AOL’s advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams.”
mGage acquires Unicel Technologies
mGage, a global leader in mobile multi-channel messaging, has acquired Unicel Technologies, a Bangalore, India based mobile messaging company. Unicel is a market leader providing integrated cloud communications solutions across SMS, Voice, USSD and e-mail platforms in India. With this acquisition, mGage is now the dominant player in the enterprise mobile marketing and mobile CRM market in India.
As a combined organization, mGage will enable more than 60 Billion transactions annually.
mGage’s expanded multi-channel mobile engagement platform has the newest and most advanced messaging features with retargeting capabilities including SMS, Voice, Email, USSD, Push Notifications and OTT.
The mGage multi-channel platform serves more than 1,000 blue-chip brands, enterprises and partners through a network of more than 800 mobile operators around the world.
Equirus Capital acted as the exclusive financial advisor to mGage for the transaction.
