If they act now, they can reshape the strategic map of Asia without firing a shot. If they wait, the next opportunity will come only after a serious Taiwan Strait incident -- by which time the price will be far higher, and the room for boldness far smaller -- the opportunity may well be lost by then. The question is no longer whether this can or should be done, points out Varun Arya.
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'Corporates now have multiple funding sources beyond banks, and many are sitting on large cash reserves.'
'About $8.5 billion in free cash, about $3 billion as annual debt refinancing, and $3 billion-4 billion in fresh borrowing. An additional $1.6 billion-1.8 billion will come from development profits in 2025-26.'
India's mergers & acquisitions (M&As) market recorded deals worth $45.44 billion in the first half of 2025, up nearly 3.3 per cent from a year ago, even as ultra large-ticket transactions remained subdued. During the first half, the 7.1 per cent rise in deal count to 1,614 signals continuing appetite among domestic conglomerates and private equity (PE) funds for mid-sized and smaller assets.
Mining conglomerate Vedanta on Friday beat Gautam Adani's Group to make a winning bid for the acquisition of debt-ridden Jaiprakash Associates (JAL) for Rs 17,000 crore, according to sources. The bid value translates into Jaiprakash Associates' net present value of Rs 12,505 crore.
Qatar's sovereign wealth fund is suing Byju Raveendran in Indian courts to recover $235 million from the embattled educational technology (edtech) entrepreneur, escalating a global legal battle that has ensnared one of India's most high-profile startup founders.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Income Tax (I-T) Department are likely to join the Assam Police in investigating alleged organised financial crimes and acquisition of benami properties by event manager Shyamkanu Mahanta, an accused in the death of Assam's cultural icon Zubeen Garg.
The exit of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) from the Hyderabad Metro is a long-term positive for the stock. It could be a bullish trigger, alongside higher international orders, and new opportunities in segments like defence and data centres.
Data centres are increasingly becoming a key part of the real estate landscape, as reality firms - with rich expertise in land acquisition, construction and dealing with government approvals - are seeing them as opportunities to build long-term assets with continuous revenue flow.
The Income-Tax (I-T) Department has detected widespread tax evasion involving cryptocurrencies and, according to media reports, has issued emails to thousands of defaulting taxpayers seeking transaction details. Investors must understand the tax rules governing crypto assets and respond promptly to these emails.
Ultratech Cement's acquisition of a 23 per cent stake in Tamil Nadu-based India Cements is another instance of growing consolidation in the cement market in India. The deal will raise Ultratech's share, based on India Cements' revenues in FY24, in the domestic market by 230 basis points if the latter is formally acquired by the former in due course. India Cements' share was up 11.5 per cent on Thursday on market expectations of an open offer.
At least 2,900 acres of land deals, with a market value of Rs 31,000 crore, were transacted in the Indian realty market during the first six months of 2025 (H1 2025), according to a report by real estate analytics firm Anarock. These deals include both outright transactions as well as joint development agreements between realtors and landowners.
'The scale and depth of talent here plays a central role in core software product engineering for some of the biggest brands in tech.'
The move is to align affordable housing finance flows to the increase in property costs and inflation, says Raghu Mohan.
Fair trade regulator CCI on Tuesday cleared Bajaj Group's proposed acquisition of a 26 per cent stake each in its insurance joint ventures, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance and Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, from its partner Allianz SE for a total of Rs 24,180 crore. "The proposed combination involves acquisition of 26 per cent paid-up equity share capital of Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Ltd (BALIC) and Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Company Ltd (BAGIC) by Bajaj Finserv Ltd (BFS), Bajaj Holdings & Investment Ltd (BHIL) and Jamnalal Sons Pvt Ltd (JSPL) from Allianz SE," the regulator said in a release.
Adani Ports and JSW Infrastructure, India's leading private port operators, are expanding their logistics services to capture extra cargo while they run integrated transport services. "With incrementally less availability of lucrative port assets that can drive cargo volumes, port operators have naturally shifted their focus on deriving value in the upstream integration, i.e., the logistics space.
Gen Chauhan said a "whole of the nation" approach will be required to develop the shield.
The board also approved a proposal to tighten the rules for participatory notes through imposition of a regulatory fee on issuers of such instruments.
Errors in filing income-tax returns frequently lead to scrutiny notices, additional liabilities, or delayed refunds.
The United States has imposed sanctions on at least half a dozen Indian companies accused of trading in Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals as part of broader action targeting 20 entities worldwide.
'Growth for some companies has been hard to come by and this is a smart way to get there.'
The news that Amazon India has launched diagnostic services in select metro cities in partnership with the unlisted Orange Health Labs has led to a look at the competitive intensity in healthcare services. Listed companies in the space such as Dr Lal Path Labs, Metropolis Health, Thyrocare, Vijaya, and Krsnaa have all seen double-digit stock price corrections over the last 6-9 months.
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
The Supreme Court on Friday declared JSW Steel Limited's resolution plan for Bhushan Power & Steel Limited (BPSL) "illegal" and ordered the latter's liquidation, four years after the company was acquired by JSW Steel under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Following the ruling, JSW Steel shares fell sharply.
There have been more instances of a management team buying out the owners of a company after the pandemic. There are eight such transactions, called management buyouts (MBOs), in the five years ending 2024, according to data from tracker LSEG shared with Business Standard.
The sources said that Chaitnaya Baghel was arrested under section 19 of the anti-money laundering as he was allegedly not cooperating during the searches that came about following receipt of fresh evidence in the case.
Even as concerns grow over the residential real estate market reaching its peak, the outlook for office real estate remains strong, with listed real estate investment trusts (Reits) standing to benefit from sustained demand in the segment.
Tata Steel's UK operations, which have largely been a struggle since the acquisition, are expected to turn earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (Ebitda)-positive this financial year (2025-26/FY26) and possibly profitable by the next. Responding to shareholder queries at Tata Steel's annual general meeting, Tata group chairman N Chandrasekaran said, "We expect the UK to perform much better this year compared to last year - it will definitely be Ebitda-positive."
'Many global investors have been overweight on dollar assets, so some diversification or hedging is naturally expected.'
A total of 161.30 acres of land, plant, machinery and building of the Kannad Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana Limited (Kannad SSK) located in Kannad village of Aurangabad district has been provisionally attached under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED said in a statement.
The initial public offering (IPO) lane will be busy next week, with four main-line companies, including Leela Palaces Hotels & Resorts operator Schloss Bangalore Ltd and Aegis Vopak Terminals tapping the primary market to raise over Rs 6,600 crore collectively.
The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday said it had filed a chargesheet on April 9 in a money laundering case related to the National Herald newspaper. Apart from Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the chargesheet also names senior Congress leaders Sam Pitroda and Suman Dubey as co-accused.
Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group has completed the acquisition of a majority 67 percent stake in Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Gujarat Titans.
State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender in the country, has launched a share sale to institutional investors to raise upto Rs 25,000 crore, the biggest qualified institutional placement (QIP) so far by an Indian firm, and has set a floor price of Rs 811.05, which is at a 2.5 per cent discount on Wednesday's closing price.
When the technology gap between China and India will remain large, cost-effective hardware of the kind that proved their worth in Operation Sindoor should be our priority, points out R Jagannathan.
India witnessed a record-breaking surge in deal activity in February, with 226 M&A and private equity deals totaling $7.2 billion -- the highest monthly deal volume in the last three years, according to the Dealtracker report of Grant Thornton Bharat. "This represents a 67 per cent increase in volumes and a 5.4-fold increase in values compared to February 2024, while a 14 per cent increase over the previous month," it said.
The Government Law College, Mumbai, is inviting applications for its one year part-time Diploma Course in Securities Laws 2025-26.
