City Mumbai Financial News

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: For Mumbai-based tech professional Ketan Madhav, weekends are reserved for a subject he pursues with almost religious zeal—food. Every Saturday, he and his friends pick a newly opened restaurant and work their way through a smorgasbord of options, ranging from coastal Indian fare to exotic cuisines from faraway lands.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Earlier in May, the Lakshmi Mittal family and vaccine-maker Adar Poonawalla successfully bid for Indian Premier League team Rajasthan Royals at a valuation of $1.65 billion, or over ₹15,600 crore. In March, the Birla family, along with Blackstone PE, Bolt Ventures and The Times of India Group, acquired rival IPL team Royal Challengers Bengaluru for a $1.78 billion valuation, or more than ₹16,000 crore.At these valuations, cricket teams are selling for 30x their last reported annual revenue from operations.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) stocks are staging a recovery after months of underperformance, with the Nifty FMCG index rising 7% over the past month as early signs of stabilizing consumption and selective earnings upgrades revive investor interest in the sector.Most frontline names, including Bajaj Consumer Care Ltd (-3%), CCL Products (India) Ltd (-1%), Marico Ltd (-1%), Nestlé India Ltd (-1%) and Tata Consumer Products Ltd (-8%), are now within striking distance of their lifetime highs, leaving room for potential catch-up if demand improvement sustains.Recent management commentary across companies points to early signs of improving consumption trends, prompting investors to revisit the sector for its earnings visibility, defensive positioning and steady compounding potential, said market participants.Marico Ltd management expects double-digit revenue growth in FY27, driven by high single-digit volume growth in the domestic business, while the international business is projected to grow in the mid-teens on a constant currency basis.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Problem-solving captured Sanjay Sudhakaran’s imagination during his student years. It’s what drove him towards pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Mumbai, where he could use logic and creativity to build something worthwhile. An important learning that has stayed with him from those days is the importance of perseverance.“Projects rarely worked on the first attempt.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Aerospace and defence major Rolls-Royce Plc is borrowing from the India playbook of British energy giant BP Plc as it pursues billions of dollars worth of opportunities across defence, civil aviation and nuclear energy in the country.To lead that push, Rolls-Royce has turned to Sashi Mukundan, the former head of BP’s India business, who spent 24 years building the energy company’s partnerships in the country across gas, fuel retail and mobility ventures.The man who recruited him: Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic, who himself spent two decades at BP, including five years leading its downstream business.“Tufan was also with BP before. He’s seen how BP built the relationship in India,” Mukundan, now executive vice president Transformation India at Rolls-Royce, told Mint.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Axis Bank is selectively chasing corporate loan growth in sectors with strong tailwinds, such as data centres, commercial real estate and renewables, while staying “watchful” in the weaker segments, said Vijay Mulbagal, group executive and head of wholesale bank coverage, corporate salary, sustainability and CSR.The private sector lender has also sidestepped the “bidding game” in some aggressively priced loans to state-run firms, as banks grapple with pressure on margins and companies remain cautious on large capital expenditure despite healthy profitability.India’s third-largest private lender reported a 38% growth in corporate loans during the March quarter of FY26, significantly outpacing its rivals. The growth of corporate lending—outstanding loans at ₹4.12 trillion as on 31 March—was also higher than the bank’s retail or small business segments.Mulbagal, who joined from HDFC Bank in 2024, took over the corporate vertical a year ago, told Mint in an interview that the bank has not been reckless and its underwriting standards have been strong, with corporate borrowers rated A- and above at 91% of the book.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.For years, the potato has been one of the most misunderstood foods, dismissed by wellness culture as a “bad carb,” a supposed culprit behind weight gain, insulin spikes and metabolic woes. Yet new research, and medical experts are offering a newer, more nuanced perspective: the problem, it seems, was never the potato itself, but how we cook and consume it.Dr.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Despite the craze for Korean literature in India, you’d be hard-pressed to find an Indian fan who knows of Don Mee Choi. She writes poetry, not fiction.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.What do you do when a Bollywood power couple settles in at a table next to yours to eat tisrya (clams) and surmai fry? If you are someone who respects their privacy, you’d carry on with your meal, offer a polite smile if your eyes meet, and avoid turning the moment into a spectacle.What should have been a leisurely Sunday lunch with the family turned into an ordeal when a popular filmy couple walked into a seafood restaurant in Mumbai. Despite arriving before them and placing our orders promptly, our food, except for a couple of appetisers, never made it to the table.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Back in school, Gaurav Banerjee wrote some poetry, following in the footsteps of his father, a civil servant who was also a poet. He didn’t think it was anywhere close to what his father wrote nor good enough to be shown to anyone.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.IndiGo and Air India have opposed proposed passenger charges by India’s newest airports, warning that higher tariffs would make flying more expensive and slow passenger traffic growth when domestic aviation demand is weakening.Adani-owned Navi Mumbai International Airport Ltd (NMIAL), which started operations in December, currently levies a user development fee (UDF) of ₹620 on domestic departures and ₹270 on arrivals. It has proposed increasing this by 20% in FY28 and 10% annually until FY31 for a net increase of 45% over five years.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Private equity firm Everstone Capital has acquired Germany-based industrial equipment maker Qlar Group from Blackstone, the companies said in a statement on Thursday.While the companies did not disclose financial details, the transaction is estimated to be worth $150-200 million, including equity and debt, according to a person familiar with the matter.The acquisition underscores Singapore-based Everstone’s push to back global manufacturing and engineering businesses with significant operations in India and Asia. Qlar derives about 25% of its revenue from India, the person said.“Qlar is a differentiated industrial technology platform with a strong global footprint and deep engineering capabilities,” said Avnish Mehra, vice chairman, private equity at Everstone Capital, adding that the company’s operations in India and Asia position it to benefit from competitive manufacturing and proximity to high-growth markets.“We see a clear opportunity to build on these strengths, supported by our cross-border experience and network, to drive disciplined and sustainable growth,” he added.Everstone said it will partner with Qlar’s management team to strengthen market access and commercial capabilities while expanding the company’s portfolio of lower-carbon and circular material-processing solutions.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Iran had just opened up e-visas for Indian travellers, but ours quickly got rejected. I read on forums that it was common to get an e-visa rejection, no reasons given. So we set about charting the archaic, long-winded route to get a physical visa at the embassy: get a visa code through an Iranian travel agency, file an application with travel documents at the Iranian consulate in Mumbai and submit medical test results for TB and HIV.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.KKR-backed InCred Holdings Ltd, primarily operating through its material subsidiary InCred Finance, has filed its updated draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with the markets regulator.The initial public offering (IPO) size is likely to be around ₹3,000 crore and value the firm at up to ₹15,000 crore, two people aware of the matter told Mint.The offering comprises a fresh issue of equity shares totalling ₹1,250 crore and an offer for sale of up to 99 million shares from existing investors, as per the updated DRHP filed with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).Shareholders participating in the process include KKR India Financial Investments Pte, MNI Ventures, MEMG Family Office LLP, and V’Ocean Investments Ltd.The company said it may also consider a pre-IPO fundraise of up to 20% of the fresh issue size, which comes up to ₹250 crore, and then reduce the fresh issue size proportionately.The Mumbai-based firm, which had ​confidentially filed draft papers in November 2025, intends to use the net proceeds to increase InCred Finance's capital base, specifically to strengthen tier-I capital and support onward lending.Founded by former Deutsche Bank AG executive Bhupinder Singh in 2017, InCred Holdings now operates as a holding company for the same.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: The copyright dispute between the Reliance-Disney joint venture and Zee Entertainment has been referred to mediation after both sides agreed to explore an amicable settlement.Mint has seen the 5 May order passed by Justice Tejas Karia, which stated that “with the consent of the Parties, they are referred to mediation before the Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre (DHCMCC), where they shall appear on 20 May”. Both sides have sought the appointment of a senior mediator.Mint’s queries sent to Zee Entertainmentremained unanswered till press time.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Aditya Birla Sun Life Asset Management Co. is raising a ₹2,000 crore alternative investment fund (AIF) that will target the stocks of mid- and small-cap companies, joining a growing list of asset managers targeting wealthy investors with hedge fund-style products.The fund, ABSL Select Sector Fund, will open with a base corpus of ₹1,500 crore and a greenshoe option of ₹500 crore, executives at the Mumbai-based firm said.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.MUMBAI: Caution is returning to small-, and mid-cap stocks after last month’s sharp rally, with experts warning that stretched valuations could leave the segment vulnerable to even minor macroeconomic and earnings shocksThe BSE Smallcap index rose nearly 20% in April, while the BSE Midcap index gained almost 14%, their strongest monthly performances since May 2014. In comparison, the Sensex rose 7%.But the rebound has been uneven.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: India's latest emergency credit scheme could turn out to be a timely tailwind for banks, offering both incremental loan growth and a crucial buffer against rising stress linked to the West Asia war, three brokerages said in a report.The Union cabinet on Tuesday allocated ₹18,100 crore under the fifth edition of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS 5.0), unlocking ₹2.55 trillion in additional credit flow to businesses to help them tide over the war-induced liquidity stress.Analysts see this loan-support scheme as credit and asset quality supportive, with the sovereign guarantee structure sharply reducing downside risks for lenders.“ECLGS 5.0 is a net positive for banks—a modest loan growth tailwind and a more meaningful near-term asset quality buffer. These loans carry zero credit risk, with no provisioning drag or capital consumption,” Nomura Global Markets Research said in a note on 6 May.At a time when the market is watchful on the impact of the West Asia crisis on bank asset quality, ECLGS 5.0 provides a meaningful policy cushion, the foreign bank’s research note said.The scheme allows eligible borrowers ranging from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to larger corporates and airlines to access additional working capital loans backed by a government guarantee.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: Marico Ltd, synonymous with brands such as Parachute and Saffola, aims to earn ₹15,000 crore revenue in FY27 and ₹20,000 crore by FY30, as the consumer goods major sharpens its focus on premium products, packaged foods and a digital-first push. To meet its targets, the company looks to tap the growing wellness and premium personal care segments, moving from its commodity-centric profile.“We have multiple vectors of growth, and we have factored that not all 100% will fire every year,” managing director and chief executive officer Saugata Gupta told Mint in an interview.Marico on Tuesday reported a 9.3% rise in FY26 consolidated net profit to ₹1,813 crore.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.Mumbai: When Dilip Shanghvi walked into the press conference to announce Sun Pharmaceutical’s acquisition of Organon & Co.—an $11.75 billion deal that will effectively double the company’s revenue to $12.4 billion—he offered a rare admission.“I’m happy, excited, also a little bit anxious,” he told journalists, adding that the sheer size of the transaction reminded him of announcing the Ranbaxy Laboratories deal a decade ago.Back then, Sun was a fraction of its current size. This time, it is acquiring a company roughly equal in size, paying for it with cash and borrowed money rather than stock, and doing so at what Shanghvi described as “less than 25% of Sun’s own value.”At the surface, the Organon deal is a story about scale—a large Indian generics company buying an even larger portfolio of established branded drugs and biosimilars from a spun-off Merck subsidiary.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.BENGALURU/MUMBAI: Blackstone-owned Mphasis Ltd has filed a lawsuit in a US court against rival Coforge Ltd, accusing the Noida-based IT services firm of hiring its employees in violation of contractual restrictions and gaining access to confidential client information.The Bengaluru-based company, which reported $1.8 billion in revenue last year, has also named its former vice president Brijesh Khergamker as a party in the case filed in a Colorado court.