Tag: Merger

Air India, Vistara CEOs to address employees on proposed merger today

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Air India CEO Campbell Wilson and Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan will hold a town hall on the merger at 4 pm on Monday, May 13, as the Tata Group-owned airline aims to fully merge by the end of 2024 or early 2025.

The two chiefs will address the staff on the proposed merger of the two airlines, PTI quoted officials as saying.

The merger of Vistara with Air India as part of the deal, wherein Singapore Airlines is set to acquire a 25.1% stake in Air India, was officially announced in November 2022.

Vistara is a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines, while Kannan is also serving as the Chief Integration Officer for the proposed merger.

The town hall, scheduled for Monday evening, will be held in the phygital mode. Employees from both Air India as well as Vistara will remain present in the meeting.

An official said that the meeting is expected to focus on the broad aspects, providing an overall picture of the merger to the staff members of the two airlines.

Air India is said to have around 17,000 employees, while Vistara’s strength is about 6,500 people.

Earlier, Kannan had said that they are hoping to complete the merger in a ‘smooth manner’.

Currently, the merger is reportedly awaiting a nod from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in India.

In March this year, the Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) gave its conditional nod to the proposed merger, while the deal received approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) in September last year, subject to certain conditions.

This comes at a time when Air India Express is slowly restoring its flights and stabilising services across the country. The cabin crew members, who were on sick leave, are said to have joined duty.

“All the cabin crew members who reported sick have joined their duty by May 11, 2024,” PTI quoted a release by the Air India Express Employees Union on Sunday.

However, they stated that due to a glitch in the airline’s scheduling software, it is said to have been showing that employees were on sick leave.

The airline, which operates around 380 services daily, had to cancel at least 20 flights on Sunday, the official said, adding that it is expecting full normalcy by Tuesday morning.

Last week, a strike by cabin crew members against the alleged mismanagement had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights. However, the strike was later called off.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Vistara expects legal nod for merger with Air India by mid-2024, aims completion by 2025

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Celebrating nine successful years of operation, Vistara CEO Vinod Kannan stated that the airline expects to secure all necessary legal approvals for its proposed merger with Air India by the first half of 2024. The merger, initially announced in November 2022 as part of the Tata group’s strategic plan, aims for completion by mid-2025. A key element of the merger involves Singapore Airlines acquiring a 25.1% stake in Air India.

In an exclusive interview with CNBC-TV18, Kannan said that Vistara will continue to operate as a single brand until the operational merger is finalized. The integration process has already commenced, with discussions on merging manuals and staff transition well underway, he said.

He further outlined the timeline for the merger, noting that the legal approvals are anticipated by mid-2024, with the operational merger slated for early to mid-next year. Competition approvals are expected to be finalized in the current quarter, ending March 2024, following the Competition Commission of India’s approval in September 2023.

Vistara, currently operating six Boeing 787 Dreamliners, aims to add another by March, along with two new A320 NEOs, bringing the fleet size to 70, Kannan said. This expansion aligns with the airline’s commitment to grow both domestically and internationally, having added six new destinations in the last calendar year, including Bali and Hong Kong, he added.

While financial performance in the last fiscal quarter was strong, challenges stemming from the weaker aviation sector between July and October were acknowledged. The CEO remains optimistic, citing hopes for a positive turnaround in the coming year, despite concerns related to ATF costs and supply chain disruptions.

Highlighting the airline’s commitment to safety, Kanan emphasized Vistara’s strength in having a robust team of CAT III pilots, ensuring their regular rostering. He reassured the public that all Vistara aircraft are airworthy.

“July to October was weaker for the sector, more impact was due to ATF… We hope next year will be much bigger and positive. We are confident the current demand will continue for both domestic and international market,” Kannan said.

Deepak Rajawat, Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) of Vistara, highlighted recent passenger-centric initiatives such as live TV and onboard Wi-Fi, which have garnered positive feedback. The Mumbai hub, introduced as a second operational base, is witnessing increased demand compared to the Delhi hub.

Speaking of Club Vistara members, Rajawat assured there would be no deleverage or discontinuation of existing points, with plans to enhance offerings. The airline anticipates completing its order book this year and expressed confidence in the robust demand for both domestic and international markets.

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KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Warner Bros. is in talks to merge with Paramount Global

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. held talks on a possible merger with Paramount Global, potentially combining two of the biggest media companies in the world, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The talks are preliminary and may not lead to an agreement, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are at such an early stage.

David Zaslav, chief executive officer of Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., met with Bob Bakish, his counterpart at Paramount Global, on Tuesday in New York to discuss a possible deal, Axios reported earlier. He has also spoken with Paramount Chair Shari Redstone, whose family company owns a controlling stake in Paramount, the owner of CBS and other television properties.

A combination of the companies would unite famous Hollywood properties, including the Paramount and Warner Bros. film and TV studios, and put a number of pay-TV and broadcast stations, such as HBO and CBS, under a single roof.

A merger of the two large media companies would likely face intense scrutiny by federal regulators who have challenged numerous combinations under the Biden administration. According to Axios, Warner Bros. executives say they could complete such a merger because their company doesn’t own a broadcast network like Paramount’s CBS.

Both companies have struggled as consumers have canceled cable-TV subscriptions in favor of a new generation of streaming services. The streaming businesses are expensive to run, and haven’t made up for shrinking profits at traditional networks. Programming costs, especially for sports, have been escalating.

People familiar with Paramount’s thinking say the board has been more open to strategic alternatives, such as an alliance with another media giant, or even a sale to a private equity buyer or technology company.

Paramount has been selling noncore assets, such as its real estate and Simon & Schuster booking publishing business. Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that the company was once again holding talks about a sale of the Black Entertainment Television network, this time with a management-led group.

Paramount is controlled by the Redstone family, which owns a majority of the voting stock through National Amusements, a family holding company. Shari Redstone has also held discussions about a sale of her family’s stake in Paramount with film producer David Ellison and RedBird Capital Partners.

Warner Bros.’ Zaslav has shown a great appetite for deals, merging his Discovery cable networks with the Scripps channels and later acquiring Warner Media from AT&T Inc. in a $43 billion merger.

The latter deal included tax benefits that bar Warner Bros. from doing new acquisitions until April 2024, two years after the AT&T transaction was completed.

Shares of Paramount were down more than 1% in extended trading. Warner Bros. was down almost 1.5%.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

HDFC-HDFC Bank merger will be completed by late June: Keki Mistry

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the merger of HDFC into HDFC Bank in what will be the biggest-ever amalgamation in Indian corporate history. The merger has already been approved by exchanges. The merged entity will have a combined asset base of around Rs 18 lakh crore.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Keki Mistry, Vice Chairman and CEO of HDFC said that after the NCLT announcement, he expects the merger to be completed by late June or early July, which is in line with the timeline previously announced by the companies.

He said, “Some of the approvals came faster than we expected. So, we are absolutely on track. And my sense is that sometime towards the latter part of June or probably July is the time when the merger will get completed in all respects.”

Also Read | HDFC and HDFC Bank combined should grow at 14-15% in near term: Phillip Capital

According to Mistry, the integration process has been going on for a long time, with people from both entities meeting and running the process. He also said that some of the approvals for the merger have come faster than expected, which is a positive sign for the completion of the merger.

The merger between HDFC and HDFC Bank is set to create one of the largest financial services companies in India. The merger will combine the strength and expertise of both entities, creating a powerful force in the banking and financial industry and is expected to bring about significant benefits for customers, shareholders, and the overall Indian economy.

Also Read | RBI may give HDFC Bank more time to reach 40% priority sector lending target

The integration process between HDFC and HDFC Bank is a complex undertaking that involves various departments and teams working together. Mistry’s statement that people from both entities are meeting and running the process indicates that there is a collaborative effort to ensure a successful merger.

For more details, watch the accompanying video

Also, catch all the live updates on markets with CNBC-TV18.com’s blog

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Vector Consulting Group announces capital and business alliance with TIS Inc

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Vector Consulting Group, one of the country’s home-grown management consulting firm announces a capital and business alliance with TIS Inc. As part of the alliance, TIS Inc—one of the technology firms in Japan, has acquired a 20 percent stake in Vector. The alliance paves the way for Vector to expand its footprint in growing markets, including Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand.

Over the last 17 years, Vector has pioneered one of its kind implementation-led solution approach in the management consulting industry in India. They are committed to delivering long-term competitive advantage to their clients by using systems thinking to address ‘wicked’ industry problems in supply chain, operations, project execution, sales delivery, distribution, and customer management capabilities.

Since 2006, Vector has partnered with clients across fast-growing sectors like auto, steel, construction, pharmaceutical, textile, and retail. They have delivered transformational business results for companies and brands like Tata Motors, Godrej Group, Ashok Leyland, TVS Motors, Kirloskar Oil Engines, Volvo Eicher, Pidilite, Bajaj Electricals, Jindal Stainless Steel, Jindal Steel and Power, Raymond, Lupin, Ajanta Pharma amongst others.

From a leadership team of 3 founding partners in 2006, Vector now has grown to a size of 200 consultants and 16 managing partners.

TIS Inc., listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is part of the $4 billion TIS Intech Group. The technology firm has a significant presence in the Asia Pacific region. TIS Inc sees immense potential in partnering with Vector as the alliance gives the company a foothold and access to one of the fastest-growing economies and markets of the world—India.

As a first step towards expanding its footprint in the Asia Pac region, Vector, in 2022, set up its first office in Indonesia. The overseas expansion in Southeast Asia will also see Vector increase its headcount from 200+ at present to 400 in the next two years.

With the growing intersection of consulting and technology globally, TIS will leverage Vector’s management consulting expertise to provide high-value-added IT services to their existing clients in India, Japan, ASEAN, and China. Vector and TIS will also collaborate to innovate and co-create tech-based solutions and platforms for unresolved chronic issues in the industry. Vector Digital Labs which has been developing digital solutions for operations, sales and supply chain to strengthen Vector’s management consulting practice, will tap into TIS’s breadth of tech expertise in emerging technologies to develop enhanced solutions for their clients.

Speaking on the occasion, Kiran Kothekar, one of the founding partners at Vector, said, “This alliance will allow us to plan for a breakaway growth rate in coming years, innovate and experiment with new ideas for various emerging challenges facing businesses and the society across the world.”

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Explained: Why the much-hyped Ethereum merger has become controversial

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Ethereum merge, which has been in the making for the last six years, seems to be just around the corner now. Goerli, the final testnet, merged successfully with Ethereum’s proof-of-stake (PoS) Beacon chain on Aug 11.

The next day, co-founder of the smart contract network, Vitalik Buterin, also provided a rough date for the mega event, tweeting that the merge would likely happen around Sept 15.

Ethereum’s transition to the PoS consensus mechanism is perhaps the most anticipated event in the crypto world. It is expected to slash Ethereum’s energy consumption by over 99 percent and allow it to scale to its full potential. However, not all Ethereum users are kicked about this transition.

Also read: NFTs worth $100 million stolen in past year, says blockchain research firm

The merge spells bad news for miners who are not taking things lying down.
There have been rumours of a hard fork, and several exchanges have also offered to list the miner-backed blockchain. Moreover, some ideological concerns have also arisen, with critics saying that PoS will make Ethereum more centralised.

Miners are unhappy

For all the years that Ethereum has existed, it has depended on a proof-of-work (PoW) consensus mechanism, similar to Bitcoin. Under PoW, miners compete with each other to solve complex puzzles.

The winner earns the right to add a new block to the blockchain and receives newly minted ETH as a reward.

However, the PoW consensus mechanism consumes vast amounts of energy. Miners require advanced computing systems to solve these puzzles. Moreover, they keep their systems running almost continuously to increase their chances of adding new blocks.

With the Ethereum merge, the network will phase out the PoW consensus mechanism and move over to the energy efficient PoS consensus mechanism. However, it will also leave miners redundant in the process.

Under the PoS mechanism, miners will be replaced by stakers, who simply need to lock up a certain amount of ETH to earn the right to add new blocks and receive newly minted coins.

What are miners doing about it?

Where will the miners go once the Ethereum merge is complete? That’s a multimillion-dollar question, with the network’s mining industry worth a whopping USD 19 billion, according to research firm Messari.

Some miners are simply looking for other PoW blockchains to deploy their computing resources. Many are even hopping over to the original Ethereum network, Ethereum Classic, which still uses a PoW consensus mechanism.

However, other miners don’t plan to go down so easily. A small group of miners is rumoured to stage a hard fork of the network. “ETH PoW coming soon”, tweeted prominent ETH miner, Chandler Guo, rallying his fellow miners to continue supporting the current proof-of-work-based Ethereum chain.

Guo was a major proponent of the Ethereum Classic fork, and he’s willing to give it another go. “I fork Ethereum once, I will fork it again,” read another one of Guo’s tweets.

That said, a hard fork is a very slim possibility; it requires a lot of economic and technical support. Regardless, several crypto exchanges have already signalled their support for ETHW, the supposed cryptocurrency of the miner-led hard fork.

Bitrue, Poloniex, Huobi, and BitMEX have added ETHW-affiliated financial products to their platforms. Even the world’s largest crypto exchange, Binance, hasn’t ruled out supporting ETHW. Therefore, possibilities aside, the hard fork already has significant backing.

A question of centralisation

Besides the controversy around miners, critics have also pointed out a centralisation issue with the new PoS consensus mechanism. As mentioned earlier, users would have to lock up (stake) their ETH to qualify as validators and add new blocks to the blockchain.

However, the catch here is that the minimum amount required for individual stakers is 32 ETH. That’s around USD 52,000 at the current lowly rates.

Therefore, only large investors with a considerable ETH stockpile can afford to take up solo staking. Data from research firm Messari backs this notion.

“As of last week, @Lido controlled 31.2% of all staked $ETH on the Beacon Chain, followed by @Coinbase (14.7%), @Krakenfx (8.5%), @Binance (6.6%), @staked_us (3.0%), @BitcoinSuisseAG (2.2%), @stakefish (2.1%), and @Rocket_Pool (1.6%),” Messari stated in a tweet from Aug16.

All put together, roughly 70 percent of the staking power is held in the hands of 8 large entities. However, a lot of this staked ETH comes from individual stakers who have entered staking pools through these exchanges. Even then, fears of centralisation still persist.

Conclusion

Ethereum’s transition to the PoS consensus mechanism is a massive move. As such, it is bound to find opposition from a few, as is the case with any change of this magnitude.

However, the number of backers seems to grossly outweigh the naysayers, which is a good sign for Ethereum 2.0. But how the merge eventually pans out, only time will tell.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Zee Sony merger receives approval from NSE, BSE

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday authorised the proposed merger of ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEEL) with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (formerly Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited).

The merged company is projected to have 75 TV channels and two streaming video services, ZEE5 and Sony LIV, making it the second-largest entertainment network by revenue in India. Additionally, it will contain a digital content company, Zee Studios, and Sony Pictures Films India (Studio NXT).

The company noted that the stock exchanges’ approval “marks a firm and positive step” in the entire merger approval process.

Also read: Zee Entertainment signs merger deal with Sony Pictures Networks India

“The approvals permit the Company to proceed with the next steps in the overall merger process. The Composite Scheme of Arrangement remains subject to applicable regulatory and other approvals,” the company said in a statement.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) and other regulatory licences will be pursued by the two corporations, who had already applied for clearance from the Competition Commission of India (CCI).

Also read: ZEE-Sony merger decoded: What this means for existing shareholders

After an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties engaged in mutual due diligence, Sony and ZEEL inked definitive agreements for the merger of ZEEL into Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) in December of last year.

Invesco and OFI Global China Fund LLC, the top shareholders in ZEEL, had opposed the purchase at the time. 

Post merger, SPE will hold 50.86 percent of the combined business, while Essel (Zee’s current holding firm) would hold 3.99 percent. Existing ZEE stockholders will own 45.15 percent of the combined company’s shares.

According to the agreement, Sony Pictures will invest $1.575 billion in the newly combined business.

Punit Goenka, the chief executive of ZEEL, will serve as the combined company’s Managing Director and CEO.

Also read: Zee Entertainment block deal: Invesco to sell 7.8 percent stake

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Vodafone Group and CK Hutchinson Holdings in talks to merge UK operations

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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British telecommunication company Vodafone Group is in talks to merge its UK operations with Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison Holdings’ Three UK, according to the Financial Times.

The report, which quoted those aware of the matter, stated that the structure being discussed is not known yet.

Cevian Capital, activist fund, had been pushing Vodafone to simplify its portfolio, enhance its strategy in key markets and boost returns. Vodafone CEO Nick Read had earlier stated that the company was pursuing mergers with rivals in multiple European markets. Induced by flattering signals from regulators who understood the value of network investment during the pandemic.

Vodafone remained silent and declined to comment on the possible merger when requested by Reuters. Three UK did not, either, immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Shareholders, creditors approve merger of Jindal Stainless Steel and JSHL

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The merger of Jindal Stainless Ltd (JSL) and Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd (JSHL) into a single entity has been approved by the shareholders and creditors of the two firms. As per the regulatory requirements, the two companies convened meetings of their respective shareholders and creditors for approving the Scheme of Arrangement between the two firms, JSL said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Shareholders and creditors of JSL and JSHL approved the merger ’Scheme of Arrangement’ by a majority,” it added. The meetings were organised on April 23 following the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chandigarh Bench. The companies will now file the second motion application with the NCLT, it said.

“We are happy that our shareholders and creditors have approved the scheme for merger by an overwhelming majority. This is a testimony to their confidence that merger is value-accretive for all stakeholders of both the companies… hope to complete the merger in FY23,” JSL’s Managing Director Abhyuday Jindal said. Having a total melting capacity of 0.8 million tonne per annum (MTPA), the Hisar-based JSHL is the largest specialty stainless steel producer in India with a diversified value-added product portfolio.

JSL owns and operates 1.1 MTPA stainless steel plant in Jajpur, Odisha.

Also read: As HDFC and HDFC Bank announce merger, here’s a look at 10 biggest deals by Indian cos

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

L&T might merge L&T Infotech and Mindtree to create $22 billion firm by next week

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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[wealthdesk shortname=”L&T Infotech” isinid=”INE214T01019″ bseid=”540005″ nseid=”LTI” sector=”Computers – Software” exchange=”nse”]

[wealthdesk shortname=”Mindtree” isinid=”INE018I01017″ bseid=”532819″ nseid=”MINDTREE” sector=”Computers – Software” exchange=”nse”]

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) might merge its tech arms — Mindtree and L&T Infotech — into a $22 billion firm, Bloomberg has reported. The deal is expected to be signed next week.

CNBC-TV18 has reached out to L&T and Mindtree and is yet to hear from them. After the news broke, shares of L&T Infotech were trading at Rs 5,838.55 , down 3.12 percent at around 02:45 pm on BSE, and shares of Mindtree were trading at Rs 3,950.70, down 3.57 percent. Mindtree hit a low of Rs 3,844 at 12.40 pm. L&T Infotech hit a low of Rs 5,810 at 1.40 pm.

What could change?

The merger, if it happens, will result in cost synergies for both the companies as admin costs like HR would come down. It is to be seen who will lead this merged entity — Mindtree CEO and Managing Director Debashis Chatterjee or L&T Infotech CEO and Managing Director Sanjay Jalona.

The Bloomberg report says the firms’ boards could consider share swap ratios for the merger as early as next week. Separately, Mindtree and L&T Infotech would be conducting board meetings to report their earnings on April 18 and 19, respectively.

First hostile takeover of Indian software firm

L&T made a hostile takeover of Mindtree in 2019–the first such of an Indian software firm. The conglomerate holds about a 61 percent stake in the company, which has a market value of $8.3 billion and has around 74 percent of L&T Infotech, which has a market capitalisation of $13.6 billion.

L&T Infotech has a greater presence in the BFSI (banking, financial services and insurance) vertical. The BFSI contributes 32.8 percent to the L&T Infotech revenues whereas 17.5 percent of Mindtree’s revenue comes from BFSI, with a greater focus on insurance. Mindtree, however, has a larger presence in the media, communication and retail sectors.

In FY21, the revenue of Mindtree was $1.07 billion and L&T Infotech was $1.67 billion. Both the companies witness a dollar revenue growth of 30.2 percent and 25.3 percent, respectively. The FY23e PE for Mindtree is 88 percent and for L&T Infotech is 44 percent.

The background

When L&T took control of Mindtree, the previous management had tried to thwart the deal, calling the takeover “value destructive”. Promoters NS Parthasarathy, Rostow Ravanan, and Krishnakumar Natarajan unconditionally opposed the takeover bid. These Mindtree co-founders quit after L&T bought the controlling stake.

At the time, L&T had said Mindtree would be run as a separate entity, distinct from L&T Infotech and L&T Technology Services. It remains to be seen how employees and shareholders of Mindtree would take the news of L&T mulling a merger of its tech arms.

The Mindtree deal started when L&T bought 20.32 percent shares in Mindtree from Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha in March 2019. It also made on-market purchase of around 15 percent capital shares. In June 2019, L&T made an open offer for an additional 31 percent stakes.

Change of plans?

In July 2019, a regulatory filing from Mindtree said: “We wish to inform that L&T has acquired equity shares to an extent 60.06 per cent of the total shareholding of the company and has acquired control and is categorised as promoter according to Sebi Regulations, 2018.”

At the time, L&T CEO SN Subrahmanyan had said: “Mindtree will be run as a separate entity, distinct from L&T Infotech and L&T Technology Services. The entities would run at an arm’s length. It is inappropriate to speculate about the future structure now.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow