Espresso: Panatone Finvest’s open offer for Tejas Networks

Open offer for Tejas Networks

Investment bank Kotak Mahindra Capital announced details on Thursday of the open offer by Tata Sons’ subsidiary Panatone Finvest to garner up to 40.25 million shares—or 26 percent—of Tejas Networks, an optical networking products company.

Panatone Finvest’s offer will tentatively begin on September 23. Kotak Mahindra Capital, which has been appointed by Panatone Finvest to manage the open offer for public shareholders of Tejas Networks. Shareholders can tender their shares at Rs 258 each until October 6.

This follows the preferential allotment of 16.8 percent of Tejas to Panatone Finvest based on a shareholder agreement dated July 29. Cascade Capital Management Mauritius has already sold 15.49 percent of its 17.64 percent holding in Tejas to Panatone through a block deal on July 30.

On the same day, three key managers—Sanjay Nayak, Kumar N. Sivarajan, and Arnob Roy—also sold under 4 lakh shares each to the Tata Sons subsidiary. In another block deal on August 2, Samena Spectrum Company sold 8.01 percent out of its 10.09 percent shareholding of Tejas.

Collectively, Panatone Finvest holds 24.8 percent of Tejas.

Sterlite Tech joins Open RAN programme

Sterlite Technologies will collaborate with Facebook Connectivity to design and develop 4G and 5G radio products as part of the Evenstar program.

The Evenstar program is a collaborative effort by the Facebook community and global industry partners to accelerate the adoption of Open RAN (radio access network) technology.

“By enabling an open networking infrastructure through efforts like this one, we are enabling global telecom service providers to take the power of 5G technology to billions of people worldwide at lower cost points,” said Chris Rice, CEO Access Solutions Business, Sterlite Technologies.

Sterlite will build two advanced, high power macro radio products—O-RAN compliant radio and O-RAN compliant 4G+5G Dual Technology Radio—over the next year to enable telecom operators to prepare for Open Ran 5G.

PepsiCo to sell stake in Tropicana

PepsiCo will sell its juice brands, including Tropicana and Naked, to European private equity firm PAI Partners for about $3.3 billion.

PepsiCo will sell its controlling stake in these juice brands in North America, maintaining a 39 percent non-controlling interest in the resulting joint venture that will be formed between the two companies. It can further sell its juice business in Europe on a later date, as part of the deal.

The sales makes it easier for PepsiCo to focus on healthier snacks and zero-calorie beverages with falling consumer interest in sugary fruit beverages, which gave lower margins to the beverage maker.

Blockchain solutions for telemarketing

Route Mobile, a cloud communication service provider, and Comviva Technologies will develop advanced blockchain solutions for global telecom companies, according to a stock exchange filing.

Route Mobile will use Comviva’s distributed ledger technology (DLT) to help telecom operators mitigate unsolicited commercial communication (UCC), enable compliance and adherence to regulations.

The DLT-based solution brings the relevant parties in the ecosystem onto the blockchain, which helps telcos, as well as telemarketers, manage preference registration, and consent acquisition.

Imagicaaworld's virtual queuing app

Imagicaaworld Entertainment has launched a virtual queuing app for entertainment parks. It will minimise queuing time, and ensure physical distancing with easy access on their mobiles.

The app informs guests about the waiting or queuing time for all the rides and attractions, enabling them to go to rides with the least waiting time. Imagicaaworld is working actively with IAAPI (Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries) and government bodies to reopen its theme and water parks.

Synechron ties up with Kasisto

Digital consulting firm Synechron will partner with Kasisto, the creator of Siri, to develop a humanised conversational customer-engagement solution for banks and financial institutions.

Kasisto’s intelligent digital assistant solution, Enlighten, uses each customer’s financial and engagement history to create a full personal financial picture for each user. Enlighten then engages with them via human-like conversations across voice, text, and touch modalities.

The experience includes hyper-personalised next-best action suggestions, and the ability to guide users on their individual financial journey.

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