Dalal Street

Tata Tea had bought 30% stake in Glaceau for $677 million in August 2006. Tata Tea had valued Glaceau at $2.2 billion.

Quoting sources, Beverage Digest said negotiations are going on and that some points of the deal still needed resolving. The newsletter also said sources suggested that Coke may want to announce the deal when its North American bottlers meet in Atlanta next month, or right before. The valuation of Glaceau is rumoured at $3 billion, up from a mere $2.2 billion just 8 months ago.

Coke is now focusing on non-carbonated beverages.

Ranbaxy said it has been granted a 180-day market exclusivity in the US for the 80-mg dosage of the drug pravastatin sodium tablets, which is used to treat cardiac diseases. The 80-mg tablet had annual sales of $209 million, while the market for all dosages of the drug was $1.19 billion a year, Ranbaxy said in a statement.

Pravastatin is the generic version of Bristol-Myers Squibb’s cholesterol-fighter Pravachol.

As per recent reports, Ranbaxy Laboratories is investing more than $20 million (over Rs 83 crore) in its Romanian subsidiary, Terapia Ranbaxy. The move is a part of the company’s strategy to make the subsidiary its hub for Europe and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)’ countries. Terapia SA, an 86-year-old company, was acquired by Ranbaxy for $324 million (Rs 1,347 crore) in June 2006.

HDFC Bank posted a net profit of Rs 343.57 crore in the quarter ended 31 March 2007, as against Rs 263.21 crore for the March 2006 quarter. Total Income increased to Rs 2384.19 crore compared with Rs 1682.65 crore in the March 2006 quarter.

The results were declared after trading hours on Tuesday (24 April 2007). The private sector bank also recommended a dividend of Rs 7 per share for the year ended 31 March 2007.

In late-December 2006, HDFC Bank raised the benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by a steep 150 basis points. The bank also increased its deposit rates by 50-75 basis points, following a similar increase in June 2006. But only a small proportion of HDFC Bank’s loans are linked to the PLR. This is because most of the bank’s retail and corporate lending is done at fixed rates, and is not directly linked to the BPLR.