Sharleen Dsouza, Dev Chatterjee

Stories by Sharleen Dsouza, Dev Chatterjee

With rains at unprecedented low in August, kiranas keep less stocks

With rains at unprecedented low in August, kiranas keep less stocks

Rediff.com   11 Sep 2023

With the rains at unprecedented low in August, kiranas are thinking twice before stocking up on goods. "With August 2023 rain shortfall at almost a 100-year low, we are seeing kiranas stocking up very carefully," Akshay D'Souza, chief of growth and insights at Bizom. He added, "As we look ahead, it does seem that the impact of rains in September will be critical to the sowing season.

JSW group keen to launch car in EV segment at Rs 15-20 lakh price tag

JSW group keen to launch car in EV segment at Rs 15-20 lakh price tag

Rediff.com   7 Sep 2023

The promoter entities of JSW Group are in talks with several electric-car manufacturers in China to launch an electric car for the Indian market at Rs 15-20 lakh, a source close to the development said.

Digital disruptor brands likely to reach $10 billion by FY28

Digital disruptor brands likely to reach $10 billion by FY28

Rediff.com   6 Sep 2023

With a 35 per cent compound annual growth rate, the market for these brands is expected to reach $10 billion by 2027-28 (FY28), up from $2.4 billion now.

M&As likely to witness a strong comeback as PEs bet more cash in India

M&As likely to witness a strong comeback as PEs bet more cash in India

Rediff.com   5 Sep 2023

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in India are expected to stay buoyant, seen over the last three-four years, despite a slowdown in the first seven months of the calendar year. "M&A is a lumpy business activity, and we may suddenly see large deals taking place during the next two quarters of the calendar year. "This would help maintain the streak of strong M&A activity.

The take-off and crash-landing of Jet's Naresh Goyal

The take-off and crash-landing of Jet's Naresh Goyal

Rediff.com   4 Sep 2023

In a dramatic turn of events in May 2019, an Emirates aircraft en-route to Dubai was asked to stop while it was taxiing for a take off in Mumbai. The pilot was given no reason and ordered to immediately return to the parking bay. As the aircraft returned to the terminal, two passengers from the first class - Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita - were offloaded by the immigration authorities, who said the duo cannot leave the country. Goyal, founder of Jet Airways, was stunned. The man, who ruled the aviation sector for two and a half decades with an iron hand, did not expect to be offloaded in this fashion.

The Unholy Rift Between Companies And Auditors

The Unholy Rift Between Companies And Auditors

Rediff.com   25 Aug 2023

38 auditors resigned in 2022-23, compared with 46 the previous year.

Adani shares lose Rs 55K cr in market cap even after record quarterly profit

Adani shares lose Rs 55K cr in market cap even after record quarterly profit

Rediff.com   24 Aug 2023

The combined market capitalisation of Adani Group companies fell by Rs 54,876 crore, to Rs 10.92 trillion, as investor sentiment turned bearish on Wednesday. Shares of Adani Transmission fell by 7.7 per cent to close at Rs 886 while those of Adani Power lost 7.1 per cent to end the day at Rs 323. The stock of Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of the group, lost 6.2 per cent to finish at Rs 2,530.

Televisions Likely to Get Costlier By Up to 10% As Open Cell Prices Rise

Televisions Likely to Get Costlier By Up to 10% As Open Cell Prices Rise

Rediff.com   13 Aug 2023

The cost of open cells has seen an average increase of between 3 and 20%, and is higher for larger screen TVs in July, according to manufacturers of televisions

Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekaran earns Rs 113 cr as FY23 remuneration

Tata Sons chairman Chandrasekaran earns Rs 113 cr as FY23 remuneration

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2023

Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran was paid Rs. 113 crore as remuneration for 2022-23 (FY23), including Rs. 100 crore as commission on profit. Chandrasekaran, 60, often referred to as Chandra, received a remuneration of Rs. 109 crore in 2021-22 (FY22). With this, Chandra has emerged as one of the highest-paid chief executive officers (CEO) in Corporate India for FY23.

Bain to buy 90% stake in Adani Capital and Adani Housing for Rs 1,600 cr

Bain to buy 90% stake in Adani Capital and Adani Housing for Rs 1,600 cr

Rediff.com   24 Jul 2023

The Adani group has exited the financial services business by selling its entire 90 per cent stake in Adani Capital and Adani Housing to private equity (PE) firm Bain Capital for Rs 1,440 crore. The total valuation of the Adani financial services business stands at Rs 1,600 crore. Gaurav Gupta, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the Adani firms will hold the rest of the stake.

Vedanta likely to sell copper plant in Tamil Nadu for Rs 4,500 crore

Vedanta likely to sell copper plant in Tamil Nadu for Rs 4,500 crore

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2023

Vedanta Ltd, which is planning to restart its copper plant in Tamil Nadu, is weighing the option to sell the unit at a valuation of up to Rs 4,500 crore, banking sources have said. The company had sought expressions of interest (EoIs) for the plant in June last year but did not get a good response as the unit was shut for the last five years. "The process has now restarted with the bankers reaching out to potential bidders," said a banker.

Mission 2025: Adani group eyes 90% Ebitda via infrastructure business

Mission 2025: Adani group eyes 90% Ebitda via infrastructure business

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2023

The Adani group will be generating almost 90 percent of its Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) from infrastructure business by 2025 as compared to 83 per cent generated from these businesses currently, top company officials told bankers recently. Of the infrastructure business, 49 per cent of the profits are currently contributed by energy and utility, another 25 per cent by transport and rest by cement and logistics businesses. This will go up substantially as several new projects like Navi Mumbai airport and other projects get commissioned and contribute to the overall Ebitda pie, bankers were told.

Sony likely to seek forensic audit of Zee Entertainment, say lawyers

Sony likely to seek forensic audit of Zee Entertainment, say lawyers

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2023

Japan's Sony Corporation, which is merging its Indian television content company with Zee Entertainment Enterprises, is likely to seek a fresh forensic audit of the company after market regulator Sebi levelled fund diversion charges against Zee promoters, top lawyers said. The Sebi also barred Zee founder Subhash Chandra and its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Puneet Goenka from holding any position as director. "As the Sebi has made fund diversion charges, which may change the nature of audited reports already filed, the acquirer (Sony) can seek a fresh forensic audit," said H P Ranina, a corporate lawyer.

Vedanta's Rs 2,632-crore brand fee helps VRL repay part of its debt

Vedanta's Rs 2,632-crore brand fee helps VRL repay part of its debt

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2023

An increased brand fee paid by India-listed Vedanta, apart from record dividend, has helped Vedanta Resources (VRL) - the London-based holding company of Vedanta Group - to repay part of its debt. Vedanta paid a brand fee of Rs 2,632 crore ($325 million) for 2022-23 (FY23), according to Nomura report. This was after the Anil Agarwal-owned holding company raised the brand fee to 2 per cent of the turnover for its Indian businesses in 2021.

Why Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group companies face high debt risk

Why Anil Agarwal-owned Vedanta group companies face high debt risk

Rediff.com   6 Jun 2023

Vedanta group chairman, Anil Agarwal, 69, is well known for his business journey from a scrap dealer from Bihar to a London-based globe-girdling metal and oil and gas conglomerate with revenues of $19 billion. Now his abilities to keep his group from over-leveraging itself will be put to the test. Over the years, Agarwal, now based in London, set up the conglomerate via acquiring iron ore producer Sesa Goa, Cairn's oil producing assets in India, and Electrosteel Steel.

Adani group withdraws from M&As, to focus on prepaying debt

Adani group withdraws from M&As, to focus on prepaying debt

Rediff.com   3 Jun 2023

On Thursday, Adani Enterprises announced that it will not go ahead with acquiring Macquarie group's two road companies at an enterprise valuation of Rs 3,100 crore.

Bernstein pegs RIL's stake in retail arm at $111 billion

Bernstein pegs RIL's stake in retail arm at $111 billion

Rediff.com   26 May 2023

Global investment management firm Bernstein has pegged the enterprise valuation of Reliance Industries (RIL)'s 85 per cent stake in Reliance Retail at $111 billion, while valuing the Mukesh Ambani-led company's 66.5 per cent stake in telecom and digital platform arm Reliance Jio at $88 billion. Reliance Industries had earlier planned to list both its subsidiaries to unlock value for its shareholders but hadn't fixed any timeline. The report said that Reliance Retail had raised $6 billion by diluting a 10.1 per cent stake, while Jio Platforms raised $20 billion from investors by selling 33 per cent in 2020.

Cheers! You Can Drink Beer In Office!

Cheers! You Can Drink Beer In Office!

Rediff.com   25 May 2023

Beer to be allowed in certain offices in Haryana; other states allow its sale in stores and malls.

Nirma, 3 private equity firms in race to buy Glenmark Life Sciences

Nirma, 3 private equity firms in race to buy Glenmark Life Sciences

Rediff.com   25 May 2023

Ahmedabad-based Nirma group and leading private equity firms have joined the race to acquire BSE-listed Glenmark Life Sciences. The acquisition by chemicals-to-cement major Nirma, if successful, would be a major boost for the health-care segment of the group, on the lines of its successful entry into the cement sector following its purchase of Lafarge India's assets for about Rs 9,400 crore in July 2016. It later followed up by buying Emami cement assets for Rs 5,500 crore in February 2020.

Hindustan Unilever, Genpact launch Be.Seen to help minority-owned units

Hindustan Unilever, Genpact launch Be.Seen to help minority-owned units

Rediff.com   23 May 2023

HUL and Genpact aim to enable these businesses to eventually get absorbed into the supply chains of large consumer companies, including that of HUL. In 2021, the maker of Sunsilk shampoos committed to spending Rs 2,000 crore annually with diverse businesses by 2025, Ansu Archana, procurement director, beauty & wellbeing, HUL, told Business Standard. Archana added that the program aligns with Unilever's wide-ranging set of commitments and actions to help build a more equitable and inclusive society.