Soapmaker Nirma Buys Lafarge's India cement biz, Rural Indians Internet Usage Doubles And Other News

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Leveraged Buyout: In what is touted as India’s biggest leveraged buyout, or a buyout largely funded by debt, soapmaker Nirma Ltd said it will buy LafargeHolcim’s Indian cement business for $1.4 billion. This is quite a coup for the Ahmedabad-based company, whose claim to fame so far has been beating consumer giant Hindustan Unilever in the detergent game in the 80s. Lafarge Holcim has been looking to exit the Indian cement business ever since its global merger created the world’s biggest cement company, catching the attention of anti trust watchdogs across the world. Last year, it came close to selling its business to Birla Corp. before the the deal got caught up in red tape. Now the focus has shifted to Nirma as analysts wonder how this soap maker will digest a huge cement acquisition. (Chart by Business Standard)

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Phones, Not Treats: Rural Indians prefer to spend money on mobile internet rather than candy and colas, if the IAMAI is to be believed. A report by the internet and mobile companies lobby shows that mobile internet users doubled in the villages, while they grew just 70 percent in the cities. The game changer here was the 10-rupee recharge pack that telcos began offering towards the end of 2014 and is now the fastest selling pack in the country. Consumer company executives say chocolates and cola drinks are typically impulse purchases and now take second place to mobile internet, which is also their source of low-cost entertainment. Of course, the good rains could well put enough money in their hands to indulge in both. (Pic by ET)

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A GST Deal?: The NDA government has reached out to the Congress, the main Opposition party, to discuss the GST law that it hopes to pass in the coming monsoon session of Parliament. The bill has been stuck in the Upper house, mainly because the Congress, which has a bigger sway there, has dug in its heels. The NDa has also been chipping away at the opposition by wooing the Congress’ allies, most of whom appear to have been won over.

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Less Money To Mallya: After United Spirits discovered what it calls “improper transactions” worth 12 billion rupees under the stewardship of the then chairman Vijay Mallya, its parent Diageo has said it may well hold back some of the settlement money it has promised the absconding industrialist. Diageo and Mallya were caught in a power struggle, which ended with Mallya walking away with $75 million as settlement. This is bad news for banks, who were counting on this money, among other assets to recover the $1 billion that Mallya owes them.

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Ola gets a showcause notice: The Karnataka state’s transport department has asked ride-hailing company Ola why it shouldn’t cancel its license to ply cabs in the country’s biggest market. The state government is peeved that Ola continues to use surge pricing despite rules prohibiting them. Transport in India is under the purview of state governments, and various states have come down hard on Ola and its rival Uber for their surge pricing rules. Ola was the first to get a license in Karnataka but its troubles are far from over.

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UK Government To Buy Tata Steel Assets: After the Brexit vote forced Tata Steel to put the sale of its UK assets on hold, the British government has said it may well go ahead and buy its Port Talbot plant or offer loans to help buyers. Tata Steel had decided to exit Europe altogether because of a global slump, but the Brexit vote put a spanner in the works. Now, Tata is in talks with Germany's Thyssenkrupp AG for its European assets, while the UK sale remains in limbo.

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Cover Image: Kashmir remains locked down and the death toll in the clash between the police and protesters has risen to 30. The central government has now stepped in as the Kashmir government struggles to manage the situation.

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