Indian Hotels in $60m buyout overseas

MUMBAI: Indian Hotels, a Tata group company, has informed the BSE that it has approved the proposal to acquire, through its 100% subsidiary company, San Francisco based Hotel Campton Place for $60 million (including estimated transaction costs).
The hotel is intended to be acquired in partnership with financial investors, company officials said. While the sale-purchase agreement has been signed on April 2, 2007, the transaction closure is scheduled for April 30, 2007. The share price of Indian Hotels closed marginally lower by 0.7% on BSE on Tuesday.
West coast based Hotel Campton Place is a 14 storey, 110 room luxury boutique hotel situated in Union Square in San Francisco. Renamed Campton Place Hotel in 1983, the hotel occupies two historic and picturesque buildings dating back to the early 1900s.

Read more at Economic Times

Bajaj Auto may make cars, says Rahul Bajaj

Facing the heat over the prospect of Tatas' Rs 1 lakh car affecting the two-wheeler market, Bajaj Auto today said it may build cars to ward off the threat.

"The JD power study says that it (Tata's one lakh car) will affect the two-wheeler market. If that happens then we would also manufacture cars for the market," Rahul Bajaj, chairman, Bajaj Auto said.

International consultancy firm JD Power said early this week the "people's car" from Tatas that will come out on the roads in 2008 could create a major dent in top-end motorcycle sales with its lucrative price tag, provided the corporate house gets the product right in the first shot.

Bajaj's statement is the first confirmation that the country's top three-wheeler and second-largest motorcycle maker was interested in developing a low-cost car.

The company had earlier announced it was developing a four-wheeler goods carrier scheduled for launch in 2009.

Read more at Business Standard

Tatas eyeing Deutsche Telekom's German IT unit

In line with its strategy of global expansion through acquisitions, corporate giant Tatas are reported to be in advanced stages of talks for buying the IT business unit of German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom.

According to a report by German business weekly Focus Online, the Tata Group is currently studying the books of Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems unit. The Tatas are planning this deal through the European unit of Tata Consultancy Services.

T-Systems is one of the smallest units of Deutsche Telekom. It had reported a revenue of 12.5 billion euro (about Rs 73,000 crore) last year and has a total workforce of over 55,000 people.

When contacted, a TCS spokesperson in Mumbai said the report was completely speculative and the company did not comment on speculations.

Rs 1 lakh car a global case study: J D Power

The much-touted people's car from Tata Motors could create a major dent in the top-end motorcycle sales with its lucrative price tag, which has become a global case study, global consultancy firm J D Power said today.

"If Tatas are able to get quality and customer satisfaction parameters right, People's Car could shift buyers from a top-end two-wheeler on account of its safety and convenience factors," it said.

"The two-wheeler market in India could see a dent at the top-end because of the Rs 1 lakh car, but how far reaching will it be will depend on the product's performance, after-sales service and overall customer satisfaction," Mohit Arora, director (India), JD Power, said.

Read more at Business Standard