Pre Market Analysis: Indian stock indices likely to open lower; SBI, Tech Mahindra, Airtel, VIL and Jio in news today

State Bank of India: The lender has invited bids from asset reconstruction companies, and other financial institutions to sell an NPA account KSK Mahanadi Power Company, with total outstanding against the company standing over Rs 4,100 crore. The e-auction of KSK Mahanadi is scheduled to take place on December 31, 2021.

Tech Mahindra: The company said it will buy a 100 per cent stake in Florida-based Activus Connect in an all-cash deal worth $62 million. The company had revenue of $17 million for the financial year ended on December 2020. Through this acquisition, Tech Mahindra will be able to offer multilingual, multichannel, voice & non-voice customer care, sales,retention, social media moderation and technical support to customers across verticals.

Airtel, Vodafone Idea [VIL], Reliance Jio: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has released bank guarantees of around Rs 9,200 crore of Airtel, Vodafone Idea and Reliance Jio deposited for licence fee and spectrum usage charges, official sources aware of the development said. The development is part of a reform package announced by the government in September. Sources said that bank guarantee of about Rs 4,000 crore has been released for Bharti Airtel and Rs 2,500 crore for Vodafone Idea (VIL) and Rs 2,700 crore for Reliance Jio last month.

Larsen & Toubro [L&T]: The construction and engineering company said it has entered into a pact with Kemroc, a global manufacturer of attachments for excavators and backhoe loaders, to distribute the latter’s products in India. The partnership will enable L&T to expand its product offerings and provide comprehensive solutions to customers in the construction industry in India.

Maruti Suzuki: The automaker said longer waiting period due semiconductor shortage is affecting production and it can have a negative impact on car demand. The company currently has a pending order of about 2.5 lakh units, while its production was over 80 per cent of normal in November.

Aurobindo Pharma, Unichem Laboratories: Bot the drug makers are recalling different products in the US market due to manufacturing issues. As per the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) report, Aurobindo’s US-based unit is recalling 7,296 containers of hypertension drug Carvedilol tablets due to failed impurities/degradation specifications. Meanwhile, Unichem is recalling 1,284 bottles of Topiramate tablets, which is used to treat epilepsy (seizures) and to prevent migraines, due to discolouration. The USFDA has classified both the recalls as class III.

Dish TV: The company said it would convene its Annual General Meeting on December 30, 2021. Dish TV is facing a notice from Yes Bank Ltd (YBL) to remove its Managing Director Jawahar Goel and four other directors from the board.

Lupin Ltd: The drug maker said that it has entered into an exclusive distribution and marketing agreement with Biomm SA in Brazil for distribution of Pegfilgrastim. The company had earlier received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the product.

Bata India: The company’s MD and CEO Gunjan Shah said that almost 80-90 per cent of their new store additions in the next 2-3 years will come from franchise route. He was speaking at the Kolkata Retail Summit (KRS) 2021 organised by The Retailers Association of India (RAI).

NXTDIGITAL: A subsidiary of Hinduja Group which provides digital television services to consumers has seen its shares risen about 40 per cent in the past two trading sessions. The company has recently raised Rs 560.13 crore through rights issue, against an issue size of Rs 288.61 crore.