Scandent Solutions Corporation will come strongly into the limelight today following the company's statement, after trading hours on Monday, that it will merge with back-office service entity Cambridge Services Holdings LLC, another arm of the Singapore-headquartered Scandent Group. The merged company will be renamed Cambridge Solutions. The new company has a combined revenues of around $ 275 million (about Rs 1,200 crore), and it will be targeting a turnover of more than $ 300 million in the year to March 2006.

Following the reverse merger, the paid up equity capital of Scandent (to be renamed as Cambridge Solutions) will swell to Rs 103.65 crore. Scandent’s current equity base is Rs 28.90 crore.

Scandent's board of directors, which met in Mumbai on Monday, also approved a plan to raise additional capital of up to $ 75 million.

VSNL may edge higher after it said on Monday it plans to acquire Tata Power Broadband Ltd., a wholly-owned unit of Tata Power Company for Rs 239 crore. Tata Power Broadband has a fibre optic network in Mumbai and Pune and offers broadband services to telecom companies and bulk users of bandwidth. VSNL said it would consider a merger of the broadband subsidiary with it at a later date.

Oil exploration major ONGC may slip after the director general of hydrocarbons (DGH) V K Sibal alleged on Monday that ONGC has announced its recent gas find in the Krishna-Godavari basin to jack up its share price before the AGM slated to be held on 21 September 2005. It may be recalled that ONGC's top management has challenged the nomination of Sibal on the ONGC board.

State Bank of India (SBI) may see action on reports that the largest commercial bank has increased the size of its medium-term notes (MTN) programme to $ 2 billion from $ 1 billion. The programme, which is listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, was set up last year to raise funds to augment the bank's overseas operations.

Aurobindo Pharma may edge higher after the company announced that the US FDA has granted tentative approval for its zidovudine 300 mg tablets. The approval by US FDA makes the company eligible to qualify under the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) programme for the above tablet, it said.

Since zidovudine is going off patent this month, this tentative approval may lead to final approval that will allow the company to sell the same in the US market, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement.

US FDA already granted tentative approval to a generic combination drug product manufactured by Aurobindo consisting of Lamivudine 150 mg and Zidovudine 300 mg. Zidovudine is a nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NRTIs), intended to be used with other antiretroviral agents for the treatment of HIV-1 infection.

Usha Martin may edge higher after the company’s board approved issue of 58 lakh convertible equity warrants on preferential basis to promoters among others. Each warrant can be convertible into one equity share of the company of nominal value of Rs 5 at a price of Rs 153 (premium Rs 148 per share). The warrants shall be convertible (at the sole option of the warrant holders) at any time within a period of 18 months from the date of allotment of the warrants.

The board also approved the issue of GDRs/FCCBs of up to $ 25 million along with green shoe option of 20%.

Karuna Cables may edge higher after the company’s board on Monday approved 2-for-1 stock split.

Surya Roshni may see action after the company said its board will meet on 12 September 2005, to consider and approve the preferential allotment of equity shares/warrants to persons other than promoters, director, relatives, friends and their associates at a price calculated as per the SEBI Guidelines.

Salzer Electronics may see action after the company said on Monday it has decided to defer the proposed rights issue.

Pudumjee Pulp & Paper Mills may edge higher after the company said its board has approved, in principle, to develop idle property of 49,000 sq.meters at Thergaon, Pune by constructing residential and/or commercial units (including space for information technology/bio-technology).

IndusInd Bank may edge higher after the company said it has launched VISA Money Transfer - a card-to-card money transfer facility.

NCL Industries may see action on reports that the company intends to launch a rights issue of equity shares to part fund its Rs 67 crore capacity expansion programme. The capacity of the clinker plant at Nalgonda in Andhra Pradesh will be raised from the present 2.97 lakh tonnes to 4.95 lakh tonnes per annum.