SKF fails to delist its Indian subsidiary

1st June 2005: Global ball bearing manufacturer SKF has discontinued the process for delisting its Indian subsidiary from the stock markets as it failed to get the required level of response to its open offer. "The reverse book building process in accordance with the delisting guidelines has now come to an end and the result is that the shareholding level required for delisting has not been attained," the company said.

SKF has not accepted the price per share tendered for the offered shares. Consequently, the process has been discontinued and the business shall be carried as before, it said. In February 2005, SKF had announced its intention to purchase the outstanding publicly held shares of its subsidiary SKF India Limited and to delist it from the stock markets in India. SKF presently holds 53.58% of the equity shares in the company.

Indian Oil Corp. (IOC) bonds priced at 7.15% which will be listed on NSE

1st June 2005: IOC has priced its seven-year bonds at 7.15%, the lowest end of the book-building band, merchant bankers said today. The interest rate on the seven-year bonds, with a put and call option at the end of five years, was decided through book-building. The indicative band was 7.15 to 7.45%, payable annually.

The company received bids worth Rs 24 billion but has retained Rs 10 billion in the issue, which closed on Tuesday. The issue has been rated 'LAAA' or 'highest safety' by ICRA. The bonds will be listed on the National Stock Exchange. ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, UTI Bank, A.K. Capital and Centrum Finance were the arrangers to the issue.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) planning to list on London Stock Exchange

9th May 2005: Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest outsourcing company, plans to list the company on the London Stock Exchange, its Chief Executive Subramanian Ramadorai has indicated. Stating that London is a very important market, Ramadorai told The Telegraph "They (LSE) keep talking to us to try and persuade us to go to the LSE. They say things like 'Sarbanes Oxley is a nightmare'. Everybody does their own sales pitch." Sarbanes Oxley is a financial and accounting disclosure norm mandated by US Securities and Exchange Commission for companies who would list in US Exchanges. It is also mandatory to follow it for existing listed companies.

TCS, which had a market capitalization of 6 billion pounds when it listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange in April, is known to be seeking secondary listing. According to sources, TCS is also talking to the New York Stock Exchange and Deutsche Borse, but it is keen on London because "its culture fit TCS". TCS has been at the forefront of moves to persuade more British companies to outsource their work to India. Among its clients are BT and British Airways, and TCS is also part of the consortium that is building the new NHS computer system.

Ramadorai said the Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and the UK last month made the UK a more attractive proposition for Indian companies. The memorandum increases the number of flights between the two countries from an existing 40 per week to 130.