The global economic downturn made 2008 a forgettable year, it had its usual share of ups and downs for India Inc
The global economic downturn made 2008 a forgettable year. It had its usual share of ups and downs for India Inc. Here’s a look at some of the events that shaped the year:
10 Jan: ‘Nano´ is born. The world’s cheapest car costing Rs100,000 unveiled at 9th Auto Expo in Delhi by Ratan Tata.
15 Jan: India’s largest IPO by Reliance Power to raise Rs11,000 crore opens. The issue closed on 18 January but was hammered in the market on debut. The company issued bonus shares to retain investor confidence.
8 Feb: Developer Emaar MGF Land Ltd calls off Rs7,000 crore IPO following poor investor response.
11 Mar: Real estate firm BPTP strikes India’s biggest ever land deal by shelling out Rs5,006 crore for a 95 acre commercial plot at Noida. As financial crisis deepens, the company is now facing problems paying the sum.
26 Mar: Tata Motors announces agreement with Ford Motor to acquire Jaguar Land Rover for $2.3 billion.
19 Apr: Cancer drug maker Dabur Pharma acquired by Singapore-based Fresenius Kabi for nearly Rs1,000 crore.
6 May: Telecom operator Bharti Airtel in talks with South Africa’s MTN Group for a deal that would give it presence in 21 African and Asian countries.
24 May: Bharti Airtel backs out from MTN deal.
28 May: Anil Ambani-run Reliance Communications begins discussions for reverse merger with MTN. Talks fail in July.
11 June: Japanese drug firm Daiichi Sankyo acquires control of Ranbaxy for over Rs22,000 crore - essays biggest Indian pharma industry deal.
18 June: India gets first commercially available hybrid car when Honda Siel launched its Civic Hybrid priced at Rs21.5 lakh.
25 June: Idea Cellular acquires 40.8% stake in a smaller rival Spice Communications for about Rs2700 crore.
27 June: Russia’s Severstal outbids Essar’s $1.2 billion offer for US-based Esmark.
11 July: Gurgaon-based WNS (Holdings) Ltd acquires UK insurance major Aviva’s BPO business Aviva Global Services (AGS) for around $228 million (Rs980 crore).
8 Aug: South Korean steel giant Posco gets approval from Supreme Court to go ahead with its Rs51,000 crore steel project in Orissa after getting environmental clearance.
11 Aug: Low-cost airline Spicejet secures $100 million investment from Goldman Sachs and WL Ross.
21 Aug: Apple’s iPhone makes India debut.
16 Sep: US Foods and Drug Administration bans 30 drugs manufactured by Ranbaxy Laboratories at its two facilities in Dewas and Poanta Sahib.
23 Sep: UAE telecom giant Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) buys about 45% of Swan Telecom for up to $900 million.
26 Sep: HCL Technologies makes a cash offer of 650 pence a share for acquiring UK-based SAP consulting firm Axon Group.
3 Oct: Tata Motors pulls out of Singur, where it planned to set up the mother plant for Nano at an investment of Rs1,500 crore.
7 Oct: Tata Motors announces new Nano plant will come up at Sanand in Gujarat at an investment of Rs2000 crore.
Oct 8: TCS acquires 96.3% stake in Citigroup Global Services Ltd, the BPO outfit of the American bank, for $505 million.
13 Oct: Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines form operational alliance to cut costs.
15 Oct: Jet Airways lays off 1900 of its employees in various work profiles. Two days later, company Chairman Naresh Goyal orders reinstatement of all the sacked employees.
30 Oct: Real estate major Unitech sells 60% stake in telecom venture Unitech Wireless to Norway-based Telenor for Rs 6,120 crore.
4 Nov: Kolkata-based FMCG firm Emami completes acquisition of Zandu Pharmaceuticals.
12 Nov: Japan’s largest mobile operator by users, NTT DoCoMo picks up 26% stake in mobile and wireline operator Tata Teleservices (TTSL) for $2.7 billion.
21 Nov: Dabur India acquires 72.15% stake in women’s skin-care company Fem Care Pharma (FCPL) for Rs203.7 crore.
11 Dec: State-owned telecom operator MTNL launches third generation (3G) services.
16 Dec: India’s fourth largest IT firm Satyam Computer announces acquisition of Maytas Properties and Mytas Infra for $1.6 billion dollars.
17 Dec: Satyam calls off acquisition after angry shareholders response. Since then, four of the company’s independent directors have quit.
23 Dec: Country’s third-largest software services provider Wipro agrees to buy Citi Technology Services Ltd from Citigroup for about $127 million.
25 Dec: World Bank says Satyam barred from doing business with it for eight years; Reliance Petroleum commissions its 580,000 barrels per day refinery ar Jamnagar.
31 Dec: Stock market benchmark Sensex closes trading for the year down 69 points at 9,647.31. It had peaked to 21,206.77 points in January.
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