SPICEJET

Maran takes over as Chairman of SpiceJet

After much speculation and shortly after acquiring an additional stake in SpiceJet Ltd, Kalanithi Maran, chairman and promoter of Sun Network on Monday, formally took over as the chairman of the low-cost airline.

The media baron’s associate company KAL Airways Private Ltd had recently bought an additional 7.68 per cent stake in SpiceJet for Rs 146.86 crore. Maran had acquired 31.08 million shares of SpiceJet through an off-shore market transaction. With this, he becomes the majority shareholder in the company, holding 38.66 per cent stake. The combined stake of both Maran and his associate company has gone up to 66.2 per cent in SpiceJet.

Speaking on the occasion, Maran said, “I am very optimistic about the growth in the aviation business which is the basis for SpiceJet recently placing order for 30 new Boeing 737-800NG aircraft with deliveries commencing from 2014. This is in addition to our plans to double our current fleet size to 50 aircraft by 2013.”

The agreement was signed in June between the Chennai-based industrialist and the former promoters of SpiceJet, namely, American investor Wilbur Ross, his investment companies and Bhulo Kansagara family-promoted Royal Holding Services Ltd. The deal was estimated to be worth Rs 740 crore.

SpiceJet has 13 per cent market share and operates 153 flights daily to 20 Indian cities.

TAGUAR LAND ROVER TO SET UP PLAN IN CHINA

TAGUAR LAND ROVER TO SET UP PLAN IN CHINA

Tata group firm Jaguar Land Rover plans to produce more than 50,000 vehicles a year from a new plant in China says a media report. “Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), the UK-based luxury vehicle business owned by India’s Tata Motors, plans to produce more than 50,000 vehicles a year from a new plant in China employing up to 5,000 staff”, according to the ‘Financial Times’.

Quoting to JLR chief executive Ralf Speth, the report said the auto giant could “begin immediately” if it struck a joint venture deal with a Chinese industrial partner.

According to the publication, the move, which is expected to be emphasized by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron during his visit to China, next week, would create up to 5,000 jobs.

JLR is negotiating with large state controlled vehicle makers and with Chinese regions to find the best bridgehead into the market. “The winners and losers in the world automotive industry will be determined by what happens in China,” said Speth.

Besides, JLR has hired Stefan Berger, an expert in Chinese joint ventures previously at German engineer Linde, to help strike a deal, the report noted. JLR which suffered steep losses during the recession expects to make a healthy profit this year, selling more than 200,000 vehicles to generate revenues of $9.7 billion, compared with $6.7 billion last year. Tata Motors bough JLR which employs 15,000 people, from Ford for $1.3 billion in June 2008.

MICROSOFT CEO SELLS 12% STAKE

MICROSOFT CEO SELLS 12% STAKE

Seattle: Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer sold $1.3 billion worth of shares in the company, cutting his stake by about 12% but said his first stock sale in seven years should not be taken as a lack of confidence in the world’s largest software firm.

Ballmer said he will sell more shares by the end of the year, in a move to diversify his investments and plan for taxes, but the company sought to allay talk that the 54-year old executive, who has been CEO since 2000, may be preparing an exit from the company.

“Even though this is a personal financial matter, I want to be clear about this to avoid any confusion,” Ballmer said in a statement on the company’s Website. “I am excited about our new products and the potential for our technology to change people’s lives, and I remain fully committed to Microsoft and its success”.

Ballmer, who was the first business manager at Microsoft when he joined in 1980, has not shown any interest in stepping down or leaving the company, despite some criticism from Wall Street over the company’s lagging shares, which are trading at the same level as 2002.

According to a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday, Ballmer sole 49.3 million Microsoft shares in the last three days, at prices just above and below $27 per share.

Ballmer said he plans to sell up to 75 million shares by the end of this year. If he does sell that many shares, that would mean a 18% cut in Ballmer’s stake, based on the 408 million shares he held before the sales in the last few days.

As of Friday, Ballmer still holds about 359 million Microsoft shares, or 4.2% of the company, worth about $9.6 billion. That makes him the second largest shareholder behind Chairman and co-founder Bill Gates, according to Thomson Reuter’s data.

Gates, who holds about 621 million shares, or about 7.2% of the company, regularly sells shares in batches of I million or 2 million to fund his philanthropic foundation. Microsoft share were unchanged in after-hours trading on Friday, after closing down 1% at %26.85 on Nasdaq.