Royalty payments have been a bone of serious contention, enough to bring in regulatory intervention. In most instances, royalty is a legitimate charge for the company, but how much is enough? While MNCs have been paying royalty to their parent companies for the use of brands and technological support, Indian promoters too have been charging listed companies for the use of the brand. Investor pressure has resulted in SEBI bringing in regulations for royalty payments above 2% o

Given the influence policy has on the fortunes of a business, it is naïve to expect that businesses will stay away from political parties. It is easy to imagine a scenario where each business gives more, thereby nullifying any advantage they hope to gain. It is in this context that political donations by companies should be directed towards a larger cause and not just to get policy tweaked in their favour. Such contributions must redefine the purpose they serve i.e. use this

The Companies Act 2013 expects businesses to spend 2% of their three-year average profits on social initiatives. Even before the Act was put in place companies recognized they need to think about more than just profits – and did so. But since CSR has become mandatory, companies have embraced social causes with a fervour. They now apply the same rigour to causes as diverse - as hunger, poverty, healthcare, education, cleanliness environmental sustainability, and rural developm

Mindtree has become an acquisition target and L&T the ‘hostile’ acquirer. As Mindtree’s promoters have openly opposed L&T’s acquisition bid, Mindtree’s Independent Directors must provide objective guidance to the company’s shareholders on whether L&T’s open offer is in the company’s long-term interest. Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) has signed a share purchase agreement with the Café Coffee Day group (V G Siddhartha and Coffee Day Enterprises Limited) to acquire 20.32% in Mind