HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh on Monday said harmonisation of rules between banks and non-banks which reduces the regulatory arbitrage was one of the key factors which influenced the decision for merger between the largest home financier and HDFC Bank. Parekh, who said the merger discussions have happened over the last three weeks, noted that requirements like non performing asset recognition being at par and size-based regulations for non-bank finance companies are among the changes in landscape. Addressing a press conference after the surprise announcement earlier in the day, Parekh said the last three years have seen harmonisation in the regulations which reduce the "regulatory arbitrage" of running a separate home finance company.
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday directed Zee Entertainment to convene a shareholders' meet on October 14 for approving the merger with Culver Max Entertainment (formerly Sony Pictures Network). The order, passed on August 24, but uploaded to the bourses on Wednesday, comes close on the heels of the Competition Commission of India (CCI)'s observation that the $10-billion merger could hurt competition and that greater scrutiny of the deal was needed. "This Tribunal hereby directs that a meeting of the equity shareholders of the applicant company (Zee) be convened and held on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 4 p.m. for the purpose of considering, and if thought fit, approving the proposed scheme," the NCLT order read.
The impending merger between Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) with HDFC Bank may create challenges for large-cap fund managers, most of whom are already grappling to match the returns generated by their benchmarks. The combined weight following the merger in the benchmark Sensex and Nifty 50 indices is likely to be much higher than permissible limits for active mutual fund (MF) schemes. This could have a bearing on the performance of large-cap funds if HDFC Bank shares outperform the markets, as the schemes will be forced to remain underweight on the stock to adhere to the single-stock cap.
With over 10 deals announced in 2024, the cement sector logged the highest number of pacts, including acquisitions and fresh financial investments, in a single calendar year since 2014, with the combined value of investments over $3.5 billion. During the year so far, 11 deals have been announced, according to Bloomberg data.
HDFC Bank has reshuffled the portfolios of its senior management team. This is the first major rejig after the amalgamation of HDFC Ltd on July 1. "The runway for our growth is large. This change is being done to bring in a very sharp focus on leveraging what we have built and for enhanced execution," said Sashidhar Jagdishan, managing director and chief executive of HDFC Bank, explaining the reason for this overhaul.
Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Viacom18 Media (Viacom18), and The Walt Disney Company announced on Thursday that they have completed the merger of Viacom18's media and JioCinema businesses into Star India (SIPL), creating a mega joint venture valued at Rs 70,352 crore. The new entity will be guided by three chief executive officers (CEOs), "who will lead the company into a new era of ambition and disruption", according to a joint statement. Kevin Vaz will lead the entertainment division across all platforms, Kiran Mani will head the combined digital division, and Sanjog Gupta will oversee the sports operations.
The Competition Commission of India on Tuesday approved with certain conditions the mega-merger deal between media groups Sony and Zee. In a tweet, the watchdog said it has cleared the deal with certain modifications. The proposed merger was announced in September last year. CCI said it has approved the "amalgamation of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) and Bangla Entertainment Private Limited (BEPL) with Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited (CME), with certain modifications".
The eighth Budget of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman continued to focus on 'GYAN' (Garib, Youth, Annadata, Nari) to maintain a consistent and coherent strategy initiated over the years in pursuing the government's vision for Viksit Bharat. The approach, characterised by incremental yet impactful steps, aims to create a compounding effect over time.
The fate of properties worth Rs 15,000 crore inherited by actor Saif Ali Khan and his family from Bhopal's erstwhile rulers hangs in the balance due to uncertainty over filing an appeal against an order of the Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property. If an appeal is not filed by the Bhopal Nawab's successors, the properties could fall under the Centre's control, lawyers have said. The matter stems from a 2015 ruling that declared the Bhopal Nawab's property "Enemy Property" due to the eldest daughter, Abida Sultan Begum, migrating to Pakistan after the Partition. However, a 1962 order recognized Sajida Sultan Begum, the second daughter, as the sole successor to the properties after the death of Nawab Hamidullah Khan. The dispute is currently with the Mumbai-based Office of the Custodian of Enemy Property, following a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that directed the filing of a representation within 30 days. The high court's order also raised the issue of limitation as the appeal was filed after a significant period. The properties include Noor-Us-Sabah Palace, Dar-Us-Salam, Bungalow of Habibi, Ahmedabad Palace and Flag Staff House. The Enemy Property Act was passed in 1968 to regulate properties left behind in India by those who emigrated to Pakistan.
The number of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in August that involved private equity (PE) funds was the lowest in nearly three years. There were 26 such deals last month, according to data from tracker Refinitiv (part of London Stock Exchange Group). The last time monthly deal numbers were so low in recent times was January 2021 when Covid cases were picking up during the second wave of the pandemic.
US short-seller Hindenburg Research has said it is not under investigation by the US SEC as it rubbished alleged links of its founder to a hedge fund for preparing reports targeting companies.
It is time for the men's and women's professional tennis bodies to merge says former world number one Kim Clijsters.
The country's largest housing finance company HDFC Ltd will merge with the country's largest private sector lender HDFC Bank, according to a regulatory filing. The scheme of amalgamation will be subject to various regulatory approvals, including from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), HDFC Bank said in the filing on Monday.
Tata Group-owned Air India shaved off its losses by 60 per cent to Rs 4,444.10 crore in FY24 over the previous year, according to the Tata Sons annual report for 2023-24. The airline had reported a loss of Rs 11,387.96 crore in FY23, the annual report said.
HDFC and HDFC Bank's merger - touted as India's biggest-ever corporate merger - pumped up shares of the two entities on the bourses. Shares of Housing Finance Development Corporation (HDFC) skyrocketed 9 per cent while those of HDFC Bank zoomed 10 per cent. In comparison, the benchmark S&P BSESensex and the Nifty50 indices settled 2.2 per cent higher on Monday.
Competition Commission of India on Wednesday said it has approved the merger of the media assets of Reliance Industries and Walt Disney Co to create the country's largest media empire. The deal, announced six months ago, has been cleared by the CCI with certain modifications proposed by the two parties.
"Heartbroken by the loss of Shri @RNTata2000 Ji, whose visionary leadership not only transformed India's industry but also played a pivotal role in shaping our aviation sector," Naidu said in a post on X.
Some of the proposed policies have been welcomed by pilots and cabin crew, while others have sparked criticism.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries has completed the merger of its media assets with the India business of global media house Walt Disney and formed a joint venture with a valuation of over Rs 70,000 crore. The JV will be one of the largest media and entertainment companies in India with a combined revenue of approximately Rs 26,000 crore and will be led by Nita Ambani as its chairperson, according to a joint statement.
For over a decade, HDFC Bank consistently outperformed industry growth rates in both deposits and advances, maintaining impeccable asset quality. Amid a landscape where other banks struggled with soaring non-performing assets (NPAs), HDFC Bank thrived, eventually surpassing ICICI Bank to become the largest private sector lender in India. Its net interest margin (NIM) remained stable in the range of 4.1-4.4 per cent.
Commercial banks in India reported a sixth consecutive year of rise in their net profits in 2023-24 while bad loans continued to fall, according to the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI's) annual publication "Trends and Progress of Banking in India", released on Thursday. "Banks' profitability rose for the sixth consecutive year in 2023-24 and continued to rise in H1:2024-25 with the return on assets (RoA) at 1.4 per cent and return on equity (RoE) at 14.6 per cent," the report said.
Punit Goenka, the former director of Zee Entertainment Enterprises, is not the only one who lost his board seat due to shareholders' activism last fortnight. In recent past, institutional shareholders of several companies, including Nestle and Wipro, have pushed back against board proposals by taking an aggressive stance while voting.
PVR Inox shares hit a 44-month low of Rs 1,154, declining 8 per cent on the BSE in Tuesday's intra-day trade in an otherwise firm market, driven by growth concerns. The stock has slipped 23 per cent from its December high of Rs 1,620, touched on December 5, 2024. It has fallen below its previous low of Rs 1,203.7 from June 4, 2024, and is trading at its lowest level since May 2021.
The US is currently Earth's most powerful country and a certain latitude of understanding -- a world view -- is popularly expected from its leadership. From a country identified with freedom, constitution, debate, democracy and the likes of Abraham Lincoln even as it had the most powerful military around, the US, following Trump's actions, seemed repositioned as militarily powerful with other qualities secondary, observes Shyam G Menon.
Metropolis Healthcare (MHL) has decided to acquire a 100 per cent stake in Gurgaon-based Core Diagnostics for Rs 247 crore. This is about 2.2x FY24 (financial year 2023-24) enterprise value (EV)/sales and estimated 14x FY26 EV/Ebitda for the deal.
Indian carrier Vistara on Monday announced voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) and voluntary separation scheme (VSS) for its permanent ground staff ahead of its merger with Air India, which had announced similar plans for its non-flying permanent staff two weeks ago.
Sunil Bhaskaran, AirAsia India's chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), is the front-runner to head the low-cost carrier that will take birth after the merger of Air India Express and AirAsia India, sources said. In a show of confidence, the airline's board extended Bhaskaran's tenure by three years -- until March 2025 -- in a meeting held earlier this year, according to the documents reviewed by Business Standard. Moreover, AirAsia India's board of directors has increased Bhaskaran's salary twice in 2022 -- first in January by 5 per cent and then in June by 7 per cent, the documents showed.
Bank credit growth is expected to moderate this financial year after a robust 16 per cent estimated for last financial year, driven by strong economic activity and retail credit demand. There are three reasons for this: a statistical high-base effect given the strong growth seen last financial year, revision in risk weights by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), and relatively slower economic activity.
Leading broadcaster Zee Entertainment on Monday said it is planning to raise funds from the market through various routes, including issuing of equity of shares, and qualified institutions placements (QIPs). Though the company has not specified the amount it plans to raise, Zee Entertainment Enterprise Ltd (ZEEL) in a regulatory filing said its board is meeting on June 6 to consider the proposal for this.
The United Kingdom extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over.
Apollo HealthCo Ltd (AHL), a subsidiary of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise (AHEL), on Friday entered into a binding agreement to raise equity capital of Rs 2,475 crore from Advent International (Advent), one of the world's largest private equity (PE) players. The transaction will also see the merger of two units under Apollo Healthco - its wholesale pharma distribution unit Keimed Pvt Ltd and online healthcare business Apollo 24'7. The merger will take place in a phased manner over the next 24-30 months.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday took note of the consent of US e-commerce major Amazon and Future group and ordered the resumption of arbitral proceedings before the SIAC tribunal over Future Retail's merger deal to the tune of Rs 24,500 crore with Reliance Retail Ltd.
The 11th edition of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Car Rally in Mumbai on Sunday featured headturners that left the audience gasping in awe. Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com presents a ringside view.
'If tech giants like Amazon, Google, Apple and Meta enter the IPL broadcasting arena, it could further revolutionize sports media in India.'
After a year of decline, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in India increased 13.8 per cent, reaching $69.2 billion in the first nine months of 2024, as against $60.8 billion during the same period in 2023. Led by Indian companies and private-equity (PE) firms, 2,301 transactions were signed between January and September this year as compared to 1,855 transactions reported in the same period last year, according to the Bloomberg data.
Dabur's performance in the July-September quarter of the current financial year (Q2FY25) was weak but in line with consensus. Consolidated revenue declined 5 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) due to a temporary adjustment in General Trade (GT) inventory. Indian revenue declined 7.6 per cent, while international business grew 13 per cent Y-o-Y in constant currency (CC) terms.
Sony Pictures Networks India Pvt Ltd (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd (ZEEL) on Wednesday said they have signed definitive agreements for their merger following conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which both parties conducted mutual due diligence. In a joint statement, the two companies said they have "signed definitive agreements to merge ZEEL with and into SPNI and combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations and program libraries". The agreements follow the conclusion of an exclusive negotiation period during which ZEEL and SPNI conducted mutual due diligence, it added.
This isn't the first instance of Vistara facing scrutiny from the regulator over improper pilot training.
'Some of the astounding proposals, if translated into statutory provisions, would be suicidal.' 'This would not be a wonder cure for increasing insurance penetration and only result in mushrooming growth of players like paan kiosks with deleterious consequences.'
Tata Power's Q2FY25 reported results were above consensus despite challenges like low plant availability at Mundra and Odisha discom operations affected by rain. A positive development for the power major included module manufacturing hitting nearly 100 per cent capacity utilisation. The Board has approved an investment proposal for a 1GW pumped storage project (PSP).
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