I love the vernacular press. They have much lesser pretenses and appearances than the English Indian media, who'se sole aim, it seems, is to look as western as possible, and at the same time, be as careless and unassuming with matters of national importance as possible.
This post is not about the press actually, but I simply wanted to make the point because after the Tata's won the bid for the Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus, thus creating the world's fifth largest steel producer, the accolades in India are just beginning.
The newsitem in Amar Ujala, one of the largest Hindi newspapers in North and Central India, had this as its headline - "East India Company ke desh mein danka", roughly translated as, "Flurry in the land of the East India Company".
The first paragraph started as, and this is a rough recollection - "400 years ago, the East India company came to trade in the country, and what happened after that is history. Now with the taking over the Anglo-dutch Corus, the Tata group has created a new beginning in the history of India Inc."
Many people say that the tatas overpaid for the company, and it is true, because the Tatas had to beat the bids by the Brazilian steel major,CSN. The point is not that Corus was overvalued, but that Tatas are severely hampering their financials. But most of India Inc., it seems, is happy to see this deal get through, simply because of the confidence it will instill in our other aspiring companies.
When Tatas had acquired the British Tetley tea brand, their share value dropped significantly, and with the same explanation that the company should not have brought them out, but today, the stocks are almost triple of where they stood at that time. I am not saying this, but Bloomberg.com is.
Nothing would make me happier than to see India Inc. take globalization right into the alleyways of the developed west. For long they have taken over economies of developing nations calling it globalization, and hopefully we will see Indian MNC's doing the same. I think its time to create a West Britain Company, or West United States Company. Start it small, you know, talk trade, and slowly grow in stature and size.
'It speaks about India Inc's hunger'
In the backdrop of Tata Steel outbidding Brazilian rival CSN in a takeover battle for Corus, Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Indian companies now have the potential to tilt scales in global mergers and acquisitions.
Attributing India's emerging power to the change in domestic mindest, Nath said Indian companies are now establishing a global presence, displaying the muscle to tilt scales in global mergers and acquisitions.
"Indian companies seeking to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange do not make headlines any longer. The hunger to be globally benchmarked has spread across sectors and regions," he was quoted as saying by an official statement.
While India has begun to invest in the global canvas, the world continues to invest in India, he said, adding that the intrinsic worth of India's strong macro-economic fundamentals are being recognised by international investors.
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$12.1 billion & Corus is Tata’s
In the biggest acquisition overseas by an Indian company, the Tatas today overwhelmed Brazilian rival Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN) to take over Anglo-Dutch steel firm Corus with a $12.1 billion bid, becoming the world`s fifth-largest steelmaker.
Tata Steel’s bid of 608 pence a share in cash topped the best offer from CSN after a nine-round auction that saw bids for Corus rise almost a fifth from the starting price.
The eight-hour bidding at the auction, overseen by the UK Takeover Panel, went to the ninth and final round. Finally, Tata’s 608 pence a share offer outsmarted CSN’s 603 pence proposal.
J J Irani, former Managing Director of Tata Steel who was present at the news conference today, said: ‘‘When I heard on a TV programme from London that the maximum bid can go as high as 610 pence for Corus, I knew we had won. I switched off the TV and went to sleep.’’ The The Tata threshold was much higher than the 608 pence per share which the company finally paid.
Tata dismissed suggestions that the group had overbid for the acquisition of Corus and said the company’s share prices, which fell by Rs 55 at 464.90, was a result of investors ‘‘taking both a short-term and a harsh view’’.
The big deal, fine print
• The final cash offer of Tata Steel is 608 pence for each Corus share, 34% higher than its first offer in October and 5 pence more than the final offer from CSN.
• Tata offer values Corus at around nine times its earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the year to September 2006.
• Tata Steel will contribute $4.1 billion to the deal, with the balance to be raised through debt.
• The deal will treble Tata Steel’s capacity to almost 28 million tonnes a year from 8.7 million now at half the cost of building new plants.
• Ratan Tata will be chairman of the new board of Corus to be formed after the takeover.
• Tata Steel will not change any principal locations of Corus group’s business, and will continue to be headquartered in India. (Reuters)
