Mumbai, Dec 28: On Monday, Dec 27, BSE Sensex lost 44 points and closed at 20,028, while Nifty lost 13.7 points and closed at 5,988 on Monday as investors booked some profits. BSE Metal Index gained 0.8 percent.

Corporat

iGate close to sealing Patni deal for $1 billion

iGate is set to acquire the Patni Computer Systems, in a $1 billion deal, at a price of around Rs 525 for every share. The deal marks the culmination of several efforts made by the promoters and private equity firm General Atlantic to sell their stake in Patni since 2007.Clinching the deal of Patni is one of the largest acquisitions for iGate.

Holcim Group strengthens stake in ACC

Holcim Group has started strengthening its stake in its Indian Subsidiary ACC through creeping acquisition for the first time after September, 2008. Ambuja Cement India and three other Holcim entities have raised their stake in the Company by 2.01 percent to 48.2 percent through open market transactions between December 10 and 24. According to Industry experts the merger may be part of a long-term plan though the timing is hard to guess. India, with a capacity of over 270 million tonne, is worlds second largest cement market and is growing at 9-10% annually.

Tata Intl buys 76 percent each in two footwear cos

Tata International (TIL) the trading arm for Tata entities has acquired 76 percent stake each in Bachi Shoes India (BSIPL) and Euro Shoe Components (ESCPL). BSIPL is India"s largest manufacturer of children footwear, which it supplies to international brands across Europe. ESCPL is a manufacturer of footwear soles.

The Bachi family will continue to hold the residual stake and work closely with TIL to manage and grow this business. With these acquisitions, TIL has established a significant presence in the children"s footwear segment. Further, the acquisition increase the TIL"s presence in the manufacture and export of footwear, take capacity to over 5 million pairs per year and make TIL one of India"s largest exporters of footwear.

Govt may set up Rs 1000 crore fund for tech push in SMEs

The ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is looking to set up an Rs 1000 crore Technology Development Fund aimed at financing technology upgrades in the sector. Confederation of Indian Industry is expected to collaborate with the government in administering the fund, as well as be involved with the disbursement process, by creating awareness about the features and the availability of the fund.

The fund, which will have a national focus, is expected to address specific needs of entrepreneurs in areas such as adoption of cloud computing services, where hardware and software services are delivered to customers based on a pay per use model.

ONGC raises stake to 49 percent in Pawan Hans

ONGC has increased its stake in Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd (PHHL) to 49 percent from 21 percent. The move will see the equity base of PHHL being enhanced to Rs 245 crore from the existing Rs 113 crore. The move will not see any immediate change in the board of the state-owned helicopter operator.

PHHL was established in 1985, where, ONGC had a 49 percent stake in the Company with the rest being held by the Government. ONGC has provided Rs.95 crore for enhancing its equity to start of sea plane operations in the country. NTPC has also agreed to give Rs 55 crore as loan to PHHL for buying new helicopters. The Company had earlier indicated that it would generate Rs 150 crore out of its internal resources for fleet expansion

(An article by DAS CAPITAL MANAGEMENT AND ADVISORS Pvt Ltd)