Business Today

Aggression is the last thing which comes to mind when you meet the soft-spoken, gentle Ajay Piramal. But behind the warm smile and the amiable demeanour lies a razor-sharp business brain which spots opportunities and is ready to take on the competition with steely determination and a will to win. Indeed, this readiness for battle was in ample evidence when Piramal bid for the troubled finance company Dewan Housing Finance Ltd (DHFL) in a bruising battle which had Oaktree Capital and the mighty Adani Group vying for the debt-laden firm. After multiple rounds of bidding, Piramal emerged the winner and bagged DHFL, which will now be an important part of the Piramal Group’s financial services ambitions. Acquisitions are part of the Piramal Group’s DNA, and Ajay Piramal is known for being…

Figures in charts show the percentage stake of the investor in the company Portfolio values as of May 6, 2022 Source: ACE Equity and BSE RADHAKISHAN DAMANI PORTFOLIO VALUE: ₹ 1,77,507 CRORE* The DMart promoter, popularly known as Mr White in the equity market, held over 12 stocks in his portfolio as of March 31; this quarter saw him pick up select stocks *Includes holdings of his investment firms Bright Star Investments and Derive Trading and Resorts, and his associates; **Includes stakes held by his investment firms; #Held by Derive Trading and Resorts RAKESH JHUNJHUNWALA PORTFOLIO VALUE: ₹ 30,400 CRORE** Considered one of the country’s savviest investors, the Big Bull of D-Street upped his stake in at least three firms in the Jan-March quarter **Includes holdings of his spouse Rekha Jhunjhunwala ANIL KUMAR GOEL PORTFOLIO VALUE: ₹ 1,841 CRORE This marquee investor has…

AT LEAST ONE-FIFTH of the country’s IT workforce has been walking in and out of jobs as attrition at the tech majors is at an all-time high of 20 per cent-plus. The 12-month attrition numbers have been rising steadily, taking a toll on companies’ margins. At 27.7 per cent, the second largest IT firm Infosys witnessed the highest attrition among peers. Leader Tata Consultancy Services reported industry-best numbers of 17.4 per cent, but it was still a record-high figure for the company. This is set to go on for a few more quarters as the war for technology talent continues. The good part? Jobs are available for the right skills.…

Covid-19 vaccine makers and private sector healthcare providers are stock-piling jabs that are about to expire. With adult India largely vaccinated, Covid-19 vaccine stocks are not flying off the shelves any more. Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, recently urged the government to reduce the gap between booster doses from nine months to six months to increase their usage, and also slashed the price of Covishield from ₹600 to ₹225. Association of Healthcare Providers (India) has said that private vaccination centres are either discarding expired jabs or are ready to provide vaccines free of cost.…

A duopoly is emerging in the country’s hyper-competitive skies, and it’s evident in Air India’s proposal to acquire the balance 16.33 per cent equity in low-cost carrier AirAsia India. Tatas’ four airlines—Air India, Air India Express, Vistara and AirAsia India—have a market share of 24.2 per cent, while rival IndiGo leads with 54.8 per cent. With the Competition Commission of India expected to clear the proposal, the Tatas would then focus on integrating Air India Express and Vistara to eventually challenge IndiGo’s dominance. Brace for action.…

The mega public issue of LIC was comfortably oversubscribed—2.95 times, to be precise—but the impact of the volatile markets was clearly visible. The insurance giant had to significantly reduce the IPO size from the earlier estimated ₹60,000 crore to ₹21,000 crore. Interestingly, the portion reserved for policyholders was subscribed over six times while that for employees was subscribed 4.4 times. The segments for institutional and high net worth individuals were subscribed 2.83 times and 2.91 times, respectively.…