Stocks to Watch: ACC, Ambuja Cements, Gail India, Yes Bank, SpiceJet | Mint – Mint

ACC/Ambuja Cements: Billionaire Gautam Adani’s group pledged shares valued at about $13 billion in two Indian cement firms just days after it completed the acquisition from Holcim Ltd., reflecting the world’s second-richest person’s hunger for capital as his ports-to-power conglomerate expands rapidly. Stakes in two of those companies — about 57% of ACC Ltd. and 63% in Ambuja Cements Ltd. — have been encumbered “for the benefit of certain lenders and other finance parties,” according to separate filings made to Indian stock exchanges by Deutsche Bank AG’s Hong Kong branch.

Gail India: India purchased some of the nation’s most expensive liquefied natural gas shipments ever after vital Russian deliveries were cancelled. Gail India Ltd. bought several LNG cargoes for delivery between October and November at more than double the price it paid around this time last year. The New Delhi-based company is struggling to replace supply from the former trading arm of Gazprom PJSC, which was nationalized by Germany earlier this year and is paying contractual fines rather than delivering fuel.

Yes Bank: Private lender Yes Bank’s board has approved the transfer of stressed assets worth ₹48,000 crore to private equity firm JC Flowers. Yes Bank will also pick up a 19.99% stake in the ARC, subject to regulatory approvals, the lender said in a BSE filing. The Yes Bank board has approved JC Flowers as the winner of the Swiss Challenge process. The decision follows a Swiss Challenge auction where the bank didn’t receive any competing bids against base bidder JC Flowers ARC.

SpiceJet: SpiceJet has decided to put around 80 pilots on leave without pay for three months to cut costs, people aware of the matter told Mint. The airline said it is a temporary measure to rationalize expenses and optimise fleet. Around 70-80 pilots from the Boeing 737 fleet and the Bombardier Q400 fleet have been put on leave without pay for a period of three months.

Mahindra & Mahindra: Mahindra & Mahindra(M&M) Ltd on Tuesday said it will acquire an additional 17.41% stake in Swaraj Engines Ltd from Kirloskar Industries Ltd (KIL) for ₹296 crore. The acquisition will result in increasing the company’s stake in Swaraj Engines Ltd (SEL) to 52.13% from 34.72 per cent, M&M said in a regulatory filing. The company proposes to acquire 21,14,349 equity shares constituting 17.41 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of SEL from KIL at a price of ₹1,400 per share, it said.

Central Bank of India: State-owned Central Bank of India will no longer be subject to strict lending curbs imposed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in June 2017, as the regulator on Tuesday said that the bank has been taken out of the prompt corrective action (PCA) restrictions. The regulator said that as per the assessed figures of the bank for the year ended 31 March, it is not in breach of the PCA parameters.

Tata Steel: Tata Steel has raised ₹2,000 crore through non-convertible debentures issue after the board of directors approved the allotment of 20,000 NCDs with a face value of ₹10 lakh each to identified investors on a private placement basis, according to reports. The NCDs are proposed to be listed on the Wholesale Debt Market (WDM) segment of BSE.

KRBL Limited: The government on Tuesday extended the last date for the export of broken rice in transit till September 30. It was earlier allowed till September 15. The government had banned exports of broken rice on September 8. KRBL Limited is the world’s largest rice miller and a prominent player in rice exports. September 8 notification stated that during the period September 9-15, certain consignments of broken rice will be allowed to be exported.

Tamilnad Mercantile Bank: The Reserve Bank has declined Tamilnad Mercantile Bank’s recommendation to appoint B Vijayadurai as part-time non-executive chairman of the lender, as per a regulatory filing. The bank had on August 20 recommended to the RBI for the appointment of B Vijayadurai as part-time non-executive chairman. The reasons for RBI’s denial could not be ascertained. It said the regulator has advised it to submit a fresh proposal of another independent director for the post of part-time non-executive chairman.

Hero MotoCorp: Hero MotoCorp on Tuesday said it has joined hands with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd to set up charging infrastructure for electric two-wheelers in the country. As a part of the initiative, the two companies will first establish charging infrastructure at Hindustan Petroleum Corporation’s (HPCL) existing network of stations, with the likelihood of subsequently broadening the collaboration for supplementary business opportunities.