 "Top 10 business headlines: Jet crisis, Reliance Retail-Hamleys deal, & more")
Jet Airways suspends all operations as lenders reject plea for funds
Jet Airways, started more than 25 years ago by Naresh Goyal, has suspended operations after lenders turned down the airline’s demand for emergency funding. Lenders’ consortium, led by State Bank of India, indicated the effort to select a new investor would continue even as Jet was “temporarily” grounded on Wednesday. Read more
Reliance Retail in talks to buy loss-making toy store chain Hamleys
C.banner International, the Chinese owner of toy store chain Hamleys, is said to be in the final stage of talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail to sell the centuries-old British company.
In 2015, C.banner International had paid $153 million for Hamleys, and since then the toy retailer has witnessed declining sales and valuations amid intense competition from online stores. The loss-making firm was finally put on the block in October last year. Read more
Goodricke parent Camellia becomes the world's largest private tea producer
In a bid to pare debt, Brij Mohan Khaitan’s McLeod Russel India has lost its crown as the world's largest private tea producer, to Camellia Plc, the holding company of the Goodricke Group.
Over the past year, McLeod sold 21 gardens in India, reducing almost 32 million kg in production. Read more
Jet Airways crisis: Banks stare at Rs 1,000-crore urgent provisioning
With Jet Airways suspending operations, lenders are looking at an immediate provisioning of about Rs 1,000 crore as the account is likely to be categorised as a non-performing asset (NPA). This comes despite the State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders continuing efforts to find a new buyer for the private airline. Read more
India Inc's Achilles heel: BSE500 firms are sitting on a huge cash pile
India Inc continues to hoard large sums of cash, reveals the latest study by governance firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS). The value of cash and cash equivalents of BSE500 constituents — based on their 2017-18 financials — aggregated to Rs 8.3 trillion, or 6.4 per cent of their market value.
IiAS says 75 companies from the pool can dole out Rs 1.1 trillion from the ‘extra cash’ to shareholders. Read more
Mindtree's Rs 530-cr dividend payout to make its takeover costlier for L&T
Amid L&T takeover bid, Mindtree on Wednesday announced interim, final and special dividends for its shareholders, totalling Rs 27 per share.
This move may push up the acquisition cost for the engineering major. This will result in an outgo of around Rs 530 crore, including dividend distribution tax (DDT), from the company’s kitty. The cash reserves stand at around Rs 1,100 crore by end of March 2019. Read more
Jet Airways crisis: Foreign trips set to get at least 10% costlier
Overseas tour costs are expected to increase by at least 10 per cent more, thanks to the grounding of Jet Airways.
For passengers, air ticket price accounts for nearly half of the total cost for short-haul destinations like Dubai, Bangkok or Singapore while it accounts for around 35-40 per cent for Europe. Read more
NDA remains Jhunjhunwala’s bet
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, one of India’s biggest stock market investors, advised caution ahead of Lok Sabha elections even as he said that the ruling government is likely to come back to power. Read more
Why Jet Airways shutting down operations poses a challenge for Mumbai
Air travellers in Mumbai International Airport could face serious capacity constraints and a colossal hike in airfares with the shutdown of all Jet Airways operations.
The reason is straightforward. Jet is the largest player in the airport, with over 110 domestic slots and 30 international slots from the city. IndiGo has 97 domestic slots and 5 international slots from Mumbai, according to airlines sources. Read more
IBC reforms: Govt invites views on group insolvency, pre-packs
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has invited stakeholder comments on the proposed insolvency law reforms such as group insolvency, pre-packaged insolvency resolution and other issues related to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, reports the Hindu BusinessLine.
