Adani Group plans to invest $100 billion in next 10 years, with nearly 70% for energy transition and for infrastructure. According to Gautam Adani, this is part of a grand plan that could make India a net energy importer. As part of the energy transition, Adani group will lead commercialization of 3 million metric tons of green hydrogen. Adani also underlined that China would feel increasingly isolated as rising nationalism, shift in supply chains and technology restrictions could impact the Chinese economy in a substantial way.
City Gas Distributors (CGDs) saw their stock prices rally sharply on Tuesday with stocks like IGL, MGL and Gujarat Gas gaining over 4%. Most of the CGD stocks have been underperformers in the last 1 year due to sustained margin pressure on the back of rising input gas costs. Most of the input cost spike has been passed on to consumers. Overall gas demand is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.7% between 2022 and 2027. Due to their huge discount to petrol, CGD companies still have a lot of pricing power in the market.
Blackstone raised $325 million by selling shares in Embassy Office Parks REIT, as it monetized part of its investment in the REIT. Blackstone sold a total of 7.7 crore units in the REIT to institutions through block deals at Rs345 per share. Big buying of the block came from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, ICICI Pru, HDFC Life and Kotak Fund. Post this sale, Blackstone’s stake has fallen from 32% to 24%. Blackstone has over $60 billion of assets invested in India across various sectors. More than one-third of this is in realty.
LIC acquired over 2% stake in BPCL for a consideration of Rs1,598 crore over a period of time. Its stake in BPCL has gone up from 7.03% to 9.04%. BPCL has a current market cap of Rs67,301 crore and is a major player in oil refining and marketing. Most of the shares were purchased over a 9 month period in the ordinary course with an average purchase price of Rs336.43 per share. It may be recollected that BPCL was one of the prime candidates for government divestment but the sale plan has been shelved for now.
Nazara Technologies saw its price fall by 4% to Rs653.45, reacting to the Tamil Nadu Cabinet approving an Ordinance to ban online gaming in the state. This ordinance is awaiting governor’s approval, post which it would be promulgated as law. Nazara is engaged in providing subscription and download of games and other content. Nazara has already fallen by 10% in the last one week and by over 19% in the last 6 months. Over the last one year, the overhang of negative legislations has led to the stock correcting by over 41%.
Torrent Pharma announced the acquisition of dermatology company, Curatio Healthcare Private Limited for Rs2,000 crore. This deal will help Torrent to add a field force of 600 medical representatives (MRs) and a distribution network of 900 stockists. For Fy22, Curatio reported total revenues of Rs224 crore. Curatio has delivered 18% CAGR growth in its cosmetic dermatology business. This deal will take Torrent Pharma into the top-10 league in dermatology segment and will be a clear leader in cosmetic dermatology space.
Axis Bank will buy 9.94% stake in IPO-bound Go Digit Life Insurance in 2 tranches. Earlier HDFC Bank had also bought 9.94% in Go Digit. It may be recollected that; last week SEBI had put the IPO of Go Digit in abeyance. Axis Bank may pay up to a maximum of Rs69.90 crore for the 9.94% stake. This is subject to all regulatory approvals. Go Digit is backed by Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma and Canada based Fairfax. The company has been founded by former chief of Bajaj Allianz, Kamlesh Goyal. Final IPO clearance is awaited.
Tata group and Singapore Airlines may merge their airline businesses (Air India and Vistara). Both are likely to be housed in a new JV. This allows them to optimize resources and take on the challenge of Indigo in the Indian market. Air India and Vistara JV may sell 25% stake to Singapore Air. However, there is no confirmation from either side. The combined value may be close to Rs30,000 crore. Both Air India and Vistara may retain their individual brand identities. In FY22, Vistara reported a net loss of Rs2,032 crore.