The acquirers of Piramal Holdings have decided to delist the company. The scrip which is hovering around Rs 52, is being bought back by the company through another cash offer for a price of Rs 55. With just about seven per cent of the equity floating with the public, the acquirers have decided to make the second cash offer for 6.94 lakh shares. The offer, which opened on January 19, closes on February 17. Depth Finance and Investments Pvt Ltd is the acquirer on behalf of Dinofinvest, United Finance, Akshar Fincom and Nandan Piramal Investments.

Modi Xerox to pump in Rs 86 crore

The meteoric rise of Modi Xerox on the bourses appears to have come to an end following the announcement of fresh capital infusion into the company by ModiCorp and Xerox, the two promoters. The scrip in anticipation of fresh funds had more than doubled in less than a month, rising from around Rs 50 to reach a high of Rs 134. It is now trading at around Rs 121.

The two promoters willinvest Rs 86.4 crore in the company through a preferential issue of shares. The two promoters will subscribe equally to the preferential shares. The proposal will be put up before the shareholders for approval at the extraordinary general meeting on February 11.

Siemens disappoints the market

Siemens has disappointed the market with the company announcing a net loss of Rs 22.29 crore for the first-quarter ended December 1998. In anticipation of a poor performance from the company, the scrip shed Rs 28 (11 per cent) in just four trading sessions on the Bombay Stock Exchange. However, on Monday, the day Siemens announced its results, the scrip closed at the previous day's level of Rs 231. During the day, the scrip opened close to Rs 232, touched a high of Rs 237, fell to a low of Rs 230 and closed at around Rs 231. The volumes, too, fell to a few thousand shares against the previous day's trading volumes at 1.47 lakh shares.

The company has reported a turnover of Rs 168.10 crore and posted a grossloss of Rs 12.69 crore. The company reported an operating loss of Rs 3.36 crore. However, thanks to the interest outgo of Rs 9.30 crore and the depreciation of Rs 8.85 crore, the company reported a net loss of Rs 22 crore. Expenditure during the quarter was around Rs 171 crore.

Software focus drives up Fujitsu-ICIM

The loss makers too can become the winners. Fujitsu-ICIM is yet another company whose renewed focus on software business has seen the scrip scaling new highs. In the recent days, expectations of a turnaround through software is driving the stock northwards. The scrip in less than 10 days has zoomed from Rs 92 to the current level of Rs 158. The company reported a net loss of Rs 3.79 crore for the nine month period ended June 30, 1998. Company had earlier indicated that it was planning to sell off its engineering services division and focus solely on software. Watch out for this new software chip.