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January 06, 2012
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Indian Tycoons Hinduja Brothers Poised to Grab British Bus Maker Optare via Leyland
By Peter Campbell LONDON (Mail Online): Optare will vote this Friday on proposals to dilute their own holdings and relinquish control of the group to the Hinduja brothers. The Indian tycoons already own a 26 per cent stake in the company, through bus and coach manufacturer Ashok Leyland. In return for a £12million loan to help keep the company running, they have demanded a share placing of £4million, which would triple their holdings to 75.1 per cent of the group. But the move requires the backing of shareholders, who will vote at a general meeting on Friday. Optare, which was born out of the remnants of the bus-making arm of British Leyland, said it could not continue trading if investors vote down the proposals. But not all shareholders have embraced the move, which would see the Hindujas pick up the shares at the equivalent of 0.27p, a discount of 80 per cent on their value the day the plan was announced. One of the firm’s top 10 investors said: ‘If they gain control at the proposed price it would dilute our holdings. This is another example of overseas businesses seeing value
Entrepreneurship in the Indian DNA: GP, left, and Ashok Hinduja (Dhiraj Singh) the two London-based brothers of the four who between them command their global business empire from India, Switzerland and the UK, are ranked number 9. The pair’s joint wealth is “cautiously” valued at £6 billion. Source: The Sunday Times UK and coming in to buy it up rather cheaply, and that is very frustrating. We are a long-term shareholder and we do not want it to be sold at this time.’ But another institutional shareholder said: ‘The company has not had an easy time of it, and has been trying to improve itself. ‘But we are content that this is
probably the best solution to the company’s difficulties available at the moment.’ Optare said it had already received ‘irrevocable undertakings’ from investors representing 34.7 per cent of shares, including Ashok Leyland, to back the deal. For more news, visit us online: www.indoamerican-news.com
For the Hinduja brothers the best sectors today in India are health, education, infrastructure, transport, retail, consumer items and food. They are also in discussions with the UK based Chemring group to set up a defence joint venture in India
Piping Technology Faces $1 MM Fines in OSHA Safety Violations HOUSTON (Houston Chronicle) — Piping Technology and Products faces more than $1 million in proposed fines after a six-month federal investigation discovered numerous safety violations at its south Houston manufacturing facility, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The piping manufacturer received 30 citations for failing to protect employees in the path of dangerous machinery at its manufacturing facility at 3701 Holmes Road, which is also home to its main offices. OSHA has proposed $1,013,000 in fines against the company, the federal agency said Wednesday. This is Piping Technology’s third run-in with OSHA in less than a decade. The agency cited the company with penalties totaling $82,500 in 2004 and an additional $33,000 a year later. The most recent penalty covers an offense that Piping Technology had been cited for before, according to OSHA. “Piping Technology deliberately exposed its workers who operate band saws and other dangerous machinery to amputation hazards while misleading OSHA investigators about the use of these machines,” David Michaels, OSHA’s assistant secretary of labor, said in a written statement. OSHA has placed Piping Technology in its Severe Violator Enforcement Program, which launched last year and calls for repeated inspections of offending companies to ensure compliance with safety laws. P i p i n g Te c h n o l o g y Vi c e President R.K. Agrawal declined to address specific violations cited by OSHA but said that company leaders “disagree strongly with the conclusions that they reached.” He said the company has cooperated with OSHA’s investigation. The company has 15 days to
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R.K. Agrawal is vice president and his father Durga is president and CEO of Piping Technology.
pay the fine, request a conference with OSHA or contest the citations before an independent review board. OSHA opened an investigation into the company’s operations after an employee tipped the federal agency to alleged workplace violations, including a lack of brakes on overhead cranes. Agency inspectors found several cases where required protective gear and equipment were not being used to shield employees from machines, OSHA said. Piping Technology was cited for 13 willful violations and 17 serious violations. Willful violations are cases in which the company defied rules intentionally or with voluntary disregard, according to OSHA. Serious violations are those that risk death or serious physical harm in cases where the employer knew or should have known of the risk. Piping Technology is a 35-yearold supplier of piping products to the petrochemical and oil production industries and others. Agrawal said that the company has 600 employees.