- Monday, April 29, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
HERE are news on Indian economy and business for Thursday, March 14, 2024:
In a regulatory filing, the USA’s Paramount Global has said that India’s Reliance Industries has agreed to acquire its entire 13.01 per cent stake in the local entertainment network Viacom 18 Media for approximately $517 million (£405.4 million). Viacom18, which owns 40 television channels including Comedy Central, Nickelodeon, and MTV, is predominantly owned by Reliance. Paramount Global has confirmed that it will continue to license its content to Viacom18 even after the completion of the deal. Presently, Paramount streams its content through Reliance’s JioCinema platform. The transaction is contingent upon the completion of Reliance’s previously announced merger with Walt Disney, which involves their India TV and streaming media assets.
Financial services firms such as Bajaj Finance, Piramal Enterprises, and Edelweiss Group together purchased electoral bonds worth Rs 123 crore (£11.6 million) between April 1, 2019 and January 2024. Piramal Enterprises, PHL Finvest Pvt Ltd and Piramal Capital and Housing Finance bought bonds worth Rs 60 crore (£5.67 million) during the period. The names were revealed after the State Bank of Indi, as per the direction of the Supreme Court, on Tuesday evening submitted to the Election Commission the details of entities, which had purchased the now-scrapped electoral bonds and political parties which received them. The SBI has issued electoral bonds worth Rs 16,518 crore (£1.56 billion) in 30 tranches since the inception of the scheme in 2018. However, the names of the recipient political parties were not disclosed.
Stating that semiconductors are the gateway to everything that is used in people’s lives and almost every industry, Indian electronics minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s next term, a very strong semiconductor industry will be built on the foundation laid by prime minister Narendra Modi. He was speaking in the southern city of Chennai, where he inaugurated a design centre of US semiconductor manufacturer Qualcomm. He appreciated the ecosystem, value chain and talent pipeline created under the leadership of Modi for semiconductors, the foundation of a developed economy.
Manipal Health, one of India’s biggest hospital chains, is poised to acquire a 93 per cent stake in Medica Synergie, potentially in April, for approximately Rs 12.5 billion (£118.1 million), as disclosed by an informed source. The move will bring together two hospital operators supported by Temasek. The integration of Medica Synergie into the Manipal portfolio will occur, with plans for rebranding, according to the same source who spoke on condition of anonymity. Temasek, a Singapore-based investment firm, currently holds a 51 per cent stake in Manipal Health and an 87 per cent stake in Medica Synergie. “Over 5,000 healthcare professionals of Medical Synergie will be added to Manipal’s capacity. Medica Synergie’s 1,200 beds will also be an addition,” the source told Reuters.
In a deal valued at Rs 12.42 billion (£117.4 million), Indian biopharmaceutical company Biocon’s subsidiary Biocon Biologics has announced the sale of its Indian branded formulations businesses to Eris Lifesciences. This transaction was disclosed in separate exchange filings by the two companies on Thursday. The anticipated closure date for the deal is April 15, 2024. The agreement encompasses the acquisition of insulin brands Basalog and Insugen, which Eris anticipates will bolster its diabetes treatment franchise, aiming to achieve a revenue of Rs 10 billion (£94.5 million). However, no specific timeline was provided. Furthermore, Eris emphasized that the acquisition of the branded formulations business will signify its entrance into the oncology and critical care segments.
(Agencies)
