HUL believes that post Covid, the awareness about health and wellbeing and selfcare, has exploded and there is a mindset change from health as absence of disease, to health as a part of lifestyle.
Prosus NV, which owns PayU, has terminated a $4.7 billion (about Rs 38,400 crore) deal to acquire Indian payments firm BillDesk, saying certain conditions precedent were not met. Prosus, the global investment arm of South African multinational Nasper, had on August 31 last year announced acquisition of BillDesk in an all-cash deal to expand its footprint in India's booming fintech sector under the umbrella of its payment gateway PayU.
The market share of discount brokers - such as Zerodha, Groww, Upstox, and Angel One - has grown fivefold in five financial years, with more than half of the National Stock Exchange's (NSE's) active client trading coming through them, reveals a report by CLSA. For the first 11 months of 2022-23, discount brokers held sway over 57 per cent of active clients, up from 11 per cent in 2017-18. Moreover, the number of active clients on the NSE with discount brokers has grown from just 1 million to 19 million during this period. Active traders are those who have traded at least once in 12 months.
HDFC Bank Q4 review: HDFC Bank's January-March quarter (Q4) results, for financial year 2022-23 (FY23), brought no cheer to investors as elevated costs, and merger-related uncertainties continue to dent the sentiment. Moreover, analysts fear that merger-related costs may put pressure on margins and cost to income ratio in the near-term, while the return on equity could moderate owing to low leverage of the parent. Analysts, therefore, opine that the stock's re-rating may be some time away. "While the risk of a de-rating on a standalone basis appears to be quite low given that the business performance is holding up well, we believe a re-rating in the stock would happen as and when more clarity emerges on the smooth transition (merger)," said a report by Sharekhan.
In a statement Thursday, the Met said it will transfer the 15 sculptures for return to the government of India. The works range in date from the 1st century BCE to the 11th century CE, and include terracotta, copper and stone.
If Cyrus's protestations of having no knowledge of his imminent dismissal are to be taken at face value, he was extraordinarily naive and insulated from the ground reality. There were enough straws in the wind to suggest that his relations with Ratan were fast deteriorating to a point of no return.
'The Mumbai-Goa highway touches 66 tourism spots in Maharashtra's Konkan. It will give development a high boost. It will also ensure quick transportation of fruits and other produce the region is famous for.'
As many as 49 players including Reliance Retail, Jindal Power Ltd and Adani group have submitted Expression of Interest (EoI) for acquiring the assets of debt-ridden Future Retail, which is currently going through insolvency resolution process. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, which is the holding company for retail operations of RIL and April Moon Retail Private Ltd, a joint venture between Adani Airport holdings and Flemingo group have again submitted their EOI, after the lenders of Future Retail decided to invite fresh bids after dividing FRL's assets into clusters. According to an update from FRL's Resolution Professional, the 49 players would be permitted to submit "resolution plan(s) for any/all such Clusters under Option II".
The status of the current submarine force level is alarming and we need to address the threat perceptions expeditiously. Critical decisions pertaining to national security cannot be delayed any further due to the rapidly changing maritime threat perceptions and growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean region, asserts Commodore Venugopal Menon (retd).
More than 70 per cent of Indian youth aged between 15 and 29 can't!
Five Indian-origin women executives have made it to Barron's prestigious annual '100 Most Influential Women in US Finance' list for achieving positions of prominence in the financial services industry and helping shape its future. Barron's is a sister publication of the Wall Street Journal, published by Dow Jones and Company. "The list honours established and emerging leaders in financial services, the corporate world, nonprofit organisations, and government," the magazine said in a press release.
Brokerages have cut their estimates of listed diagnostics players for the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) after mixed December quarter results and muted near-term outlook. Their volumes and realisations will be under pressure due to weakness in Covid-adjusted performance and higher competitive pressures, the brokerages believe. In a post-Q3 results note on Dr Lal Pathlabs, Bhavesh Gandhi of YES Securities pointed out that there has been a lack of volume revival in recent quarters, with an increasing likelihood that FY24 too would be a work-in-progress year for the company's initiatives to bear fruit.
PEs and VCs are taking a closer look at their bouquet of investments. Leading voices in the sector are categorical that cash-burn rates -- that's blowing up equity to acquire market share -- as a business model can't continue to be the polestar.
A bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala passed the order after hearing an application of Uttar Pradesh government seeking more time to install and operationalise 100 per cent STP coverage in the state.
'Every time a new tech comes in, there are a set of people who will predict that this will be the end of Indian IT and every time the Indian IT industry and overall technology providers have proven to be resilient.'
UBS stepping in to save Credit Suisse with a $3.2-billion acquisition has provided the beleaguered Swiss bank's India employees a glimmer of hope. The surprise deal - engineered by the Swiss government - has triggered optimism of fewer job losses at Credit Suisse's India unit and better synergies at key verticals, such as wealth management and investment banking. "UBS is a much stronger hand. Coming within its fold will give Credit Suisse's wealth management and investment banking divisions a good home.
Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday granted its approval for the acquisition of 100 per cent equity of indiaideas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments. The proposed combination relates to the acquisition of 100 per cent of the equity share capital of India Ideas Ltd (IIL) by PayU India. In a tweet on Monday, CCI said it approved, "acquisition of 100% of the equity share capital of IndiaIdeas.com (BillDesk) by PayU Payments."
In January, Visa's chief executive officer, Al Kelly, said during an earnings call that "there's been a burst of the balloon in valuations in the fintech world". Noting that the trend of lower valuations "is a helpful characteristic of the current environment", he added: "We will look for capabilities and management teams that will bring more value to Visa than we can bring ourselves." Data from KPMG's Pulse of Fintech H2'22 shows that global fintech investment - via mergers and acquisitions (M&As), private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms - at $164.1 billion in 2022, was down 31 per cent over the year before. Indian fintechs held up better during this timeframe, attracting $6 billion, or a fall of 24 per cent.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday said it has approved Reliance Retail Venture's acquisition of German firm Metro AG's wholesale operations in India. Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) while Metro Cash & Carry India is engaged in the wholesale operations in India. In December last year, it was announced that RRVL had signed definitive agreements to acquire a 100 per cent equity stake in the company for a total cash consideration of Rs 2,850 crore.
The deepening funding winter that the startups face and the near dry-up of IPOs singed the deal street as the total value of deals plunged by 60 per cent to $1.8 billion in February, shows an analysis. According to Grant Thornton, the industry saw just 89 deals worth $1.8 billion in February, which is 60 per cent lower than the year ago period in value terms and down by 54 per cent year-on-year in volume as investors continued to tread cautiously amid macroeconomic uncertainties. This is the second-lowest deal volume and the lowest value since 2014.
The UK government announced on Monday that it has facilitated London-based banking major HSBC to buy the embattled UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank for 1 pound, securing the deposits of more than 3,000 customers worth around 6.7 billion pounds. Santa Clara, California-based Silicon Valley Bank - which specialised in lending to technology companies - was shut down by US regulators on Friday in what was the largest failure of a US bank since 2008. According to experts, although the UK arm of SVB was small with only around 3,000 business customers, its collapse would have presented a risk for the tech sector which is seen as crucial to Britain's economic growth.
His disqualification to participate in future elections may follow, notes Rana Banerji, who headed the Pakistan desk at RA&W, India's external intelligence agency.
Amid the excitement over the arrival of Cheetahs in the Kuno National Park, villagers in the surrounding areas of Madhya Pradesh's Sheopur district have a variety of concerns including the fear of land acquisition and the fear of the big cat itself.
However, in the last few sessions, the stock of Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), hit its 52-week low level of Rs 2269.75, and has been one of the worst performers among the Sensex pack thus far in calendar year 2023 (CY23). Thus far in CY23, RIL has tanked nearly 11 per cent as compared to a fall of around 5 per cent in the S&P BSE Sensex. The fall in the stock, according to Gaurang Shah, senior vice-president at Geojit Financial Services is mostly due to the overall dip in the market sentiment, which in turn has impacted large-caps, including RIL.
A senior IDBI Bank official allegedly conspired with businessman Vijay Mallya for sanction and disbursement of loan to the latter's Kingfisher Airlines, the Central Bureau of Investigation said in its supplementary chargesheet filed in a Mumbai court. Mallya is an accused in the alleged Rs 900-crore IDBI Bank-Kingfisher Airlines loan fraud case, which is being probed by the CBI. The Central agency had recently filed a supplementary chargesheet before a special CBI court.
India's largest listed pharmaceutical (pharma) company - Sun Pharmaceutical Industries (Sun Pharma) - is expected to maintain its outperformance vis--vis the sector's, as its multiple bets on specialty products, improving product mix, recent acquisitions, and branded business are finding favour with brokerages. While it has gained 7 per cent over the past year, the Nifty Pharma Index is down 13.6 per cent. Its outperformance over two years has been fairly evident, with the market leader gaining 66 per cent to Nifty Pharma's minus 1.4 per cent.
Richest Indian Gautam Adani's group, which has grown on acquisitions, has fairly solid fundamentals but debt-funded future acquisitions can start putting pressure on ratings, S&P Global Ratings said on Thursday. Starting out as a commodities trader in 1988, the Adani group has diversified from mines, ports and power plants into airports, data centres and defence. It recently forayed into the cement sector with a $10.5 billion acquisition of Holcim's India units and is also looking to set up an aluminium factory. Most of this expansion has been funded by debt.
Walmart-owned digital payments firm PhonePe has decided to halt its proposed acquisition of Goldman Sachs- and Xiaomi-backed ZestMoney, a Bengaluru-based buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform. The deal, which was poised to fetch anywhere between $150-200 million and $300 million, has hit a snag over lapses in due diligence, disagreements over valuation, sustainability of the business, and shareholding structure of ZestMoney, according to people familiar with the matter. The collapse of the deal is also being attributed to a slowdown in the financial technology (fintech) sector in the midst of a funding winter, difficult regulatory environment, and macroeconomic uncertainty, informed other sources.
In line with the government's vision of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat', the ministry of defence on Thursday signed contracts with Indian shipyards for the acquisition of 11 next generation offshore patrol vessels and six next generation missile vessels at a cost of nearly Rs 19,600 crore, officials said.
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) by Indian companies have declined sharply by 80 per cent so far this year, in contrast with the same period last year, as bankers predict lower deal volumes due to falling profit margins of Indian companies and feeble stock markets. The decline in Adani Group shares has also hit buyer sentiment. According to data from Refinitiv, M&As in India stood at $3.3 billion from 253 deals, year-to-date (YTD) - a fall of 80 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Cross-border deals by Indian companies were also down 84 per cent to just $1.5 billion.
India on Thursday approved capital acquisition of a plethora of indigenously-developed military hardware including indigenous BrahMos missiles, marine diesel engine, artillery gun system, electronic warfare suits and utility helicopters at a cost of Rs 70,584 crore as part of a mega procurement plan.
'India has a lot of potential, not just in commercial aspects, but also in hiring of people and sourcing of products.'
Rebel Foods, the world's largest internet restaurant company, has entered into a deal with American burger giant Wendy's to run its restaurants in India. The partnership includes committing to the development of traditional restaurants and building on their existing development agreement for cloud kitchens. In this expanded, new franchise commitment, Rebel will help the brand grow its restaurant model in India with digital expertise in delivery, automation, and innovation.
The Madurai bench of the Madras high court has directed the secretary, environment and forest department, to ensure that there are no more acquisitions of elephants by private individuals or religious institutions in Tamil Nadu.
Shares of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India hit fresh record lows amid sustained decline in Adani Group stocks. Its stock finished at Rs 567.8, down 2.9 per cent over its previous close. The state-owned insurer's market value is now down Rs 2.4 trillion, or 40 per cent, compared to initial public offering levels.
FMCG major HUL on Friday announced the appointment of Rohit Jawa as the managing director & chief executive officer to succeed Sanjiv Mehta who will retire from the company after leading it for a decade. Jawa, presently the Chief of Transformation for Unilever, would take over the leadership role for a term of five consecutive years with effect from June 27, 2023, the company said in a statement. "The appointment of Rohit Jawa as a whole-time director and MD & CEO will be subject to approval of Shareholders and other statutory approvals as may be applicable," it added.
'Rajnath Singh's message was very clear: India's focus is on developing self-reliance.'
Legal battles initiated by 1,000-odd former employees of the Talegaon plant continue to present a challenge for the acquisition process.
Shedding its opposition, the Bar Council of India (BCI) on Wednesday took a significant decision to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in areas such as foreign law, international legal issues and arbitration matters, saying that the legal fraternity here may be left behind if it sleeps over the matter.
Citibank on Wednesday joined the list of foreign banks that have exited retail banking business in India. Mumbai-based Axis Bank completed acquisition of Citigroup's consumer business for Rs 11,603 crore. Under the deal, Axis acquired consumer banking businesses of Citibank India, which includes credit cards, retail banking, wealth management and consumer loans.