Morning buzz: JSW in talks to acquire Heidelberg Materials, VIP promoters explore plans to exit, and more

JSW has held initial talks to acquire 13.4 million tonnes of capacity operated by Heidelberg Materials. Image: Getty Images

JSW in talks to acquire Heidelberg Materials

JSW has held initial talks to acquire 13.4 million tonnes of capacity operated by Heidelberg Materials. The company operates two entities in India: Listed HeidelbergCement India and closely held Zuari Cement. Talks are at a preliminary stage and it is not known whether the company would choose the bidding route like Holcim to exit its India operations. JSW Cement has said it plans to take its capacity from 19 MT to 60 MT in the next five years.
(Economic Times)

VIP promoters explore plans to exit

The owners of VIP Industries plan to sell their stake in India’s largest luggage company. The deal would be worth as much as $1 billion as the promoters own a 51 percent stake in the business. The current market cap is Rs 9,300 crore. The company has hired InCred Capital to explore a stake sale and is likely to receive interest from private equity firms.
(Mint)

Returns from SME stock slip after migration to main board

Returns from stocks listed on the SME Index have slipped after they migrated to the main board. A sample of 25 stocks showed that post-migration returns fell sharply. Several companies have met the criteria for migrating to the main board but haven’t done so as they know that their stock price performance is not sustainable.
(Financial Express)

Pension guarantee likely before polls

The government is likely to enact a pension guarantee before the state polls in December. The guarantee could come in the form of 50 percent of last drawn wages, but it would involve substantial additional costs for employee contributions. The inflation-linked part could also be revised to once every five or 10 years, as against the annual revisions at present.  
(Financial Express)