Walmart likely to seal Flipkart deal by June-end

Hong Kong/Mumbai: Walmart Inc is likely to reach a deal to buy a majority stake in Indian e-commerce player Flipkart by the end of June in what could be the US retail giant's biggest acquisition of an online business, sources said. Reports said Walmart completed its due diligence on Flipkart and had made a proposal to buy 51 per cent or more of the Indian company for between $10 billion to $12 billion. A deal with Flipkart would step up Walmart's battle with Amazon for a bigger share of India's fledgling e-commerce market, which Morgan Stanley estimates will be worth $200 billion in a decade. Agencies

JSW Steel-AION Capital bags Monnet Ispat

New Delhi: JSW Steel-AION Capital has emerged as the successful bidder to acquire bankrupt Monnet Ispat and Energy (MIEL), according to a regulatory filing. The committee of creditors (CoC) of Monnet Ispat and Energy Ltd, which is undergoing insolvency proceedings, on Tuesday approved the resolution plan submitted by the only bidder Sajjan Jindal’s JSW Steel along with AION Capital. “The consortium has been declared as the successful resolution applicant by the CoC of MIEL on April 10 and has received a Letter of Intent dated April 12,” JSW Steel said.  Monnet Ispat & Energy was was among the 12 NPAs referred by the RBI for insolvency proceedings. It owes more than Rs 10,000 crore to its lenders. TNS

Bhanu P appointed banks board chairman

New Delhi: The government on Thursday appointed former DoPT Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma Chairman of the Banks Board Bureau (BBB). He replaces Vinod Rai, who was appointed the first BBB chairman for a two-year term. While announcing the appointment, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar said Bhanu Pratap Sharma would have the same mandate as was given to Rai. He has been appointed for two years.   The other members of the BBB are: Vedika Bhandarkar (former MD Credit Suisse India), P Pradeep Kumar (former MD SBI) and Pradip P Shah (founder MD Crisil). TNS

DoT told to approve Airtel-Telenor merger

New Delhi: Telecom tribunal TDSAT has asked the Department of Telecom (DoT) to approve the Airtel-Telenor merger without any bank guarantee, according to a Bharti spokesperson. The DoT on April 3 had asked Bharti Airtel to submit the bank guarantee of around Rs 1,700 crore before approving the merger. The guarantee included Rs 1,499 crore for the one-time spectrum charge for the radiowaves allocated to Airtel without auction and over Rs 200 crore for spectrum payment which Telenor has to make. TNS