Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
This week, India’s M&A mood felt cautiously constructive, rather than fully confident.
On one side, policymakers moved to make fast-track mergers easier, a welcoming signal for those who are looking to execute deals. On the other, a slower private-sector growth due to the Iran war, a weaker rupee, rising input costs and tighter funding conditions made the backdrop more difficult.
That mix has left buyers willing to pursue strategic transactions, but even more disciplined on valuation, leverage and timing.
Highlights from this edition include:
- Infosys agreed to acquire Stratus Technology Services for USD 95 million, alongside its USD 465 million acquisition of Optimum Healthcare IT, taking the group’s announced spend to USD 560 million.
- Siegwerk acquired Hi-Tech Inks in a consolidation move that it says creates the largest player in India’s flexible packaging inks market, with more than 20% market share. No valuation was disclosed.
- Belrise Industries acquired Chester Hall for an enterprise value of £13.2 million, marking its entry into the global aerospace, space and defence precision engineering supply chain.
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Enjoy the read.
Deal Tracker
Rumour mill
- Kotak is nearing a ₹4,500 crore acquisition of Deutsche Bank’s India retail portfolio, as the German lender continues to pull back from consumer banking.
- Prudential and HCL are moving closer to launching their health insurance JV, with regulatory easing helping revive a deal that had been delayed for more than a year.
- Warburg Pincus is in talks to buy Maneesh Pharma’s non-TB business for up to ₹1,800 crore, as it looks to add another piece to its India pharma platform.
- Tata Capital Healthcare Fund is in discussions to invest in Tenet Diagnostics, keeping investor attention firmly on India’s diagnostics consolidation story.
- Paper Boat maker Hector Beverages is said to be exploring a fresh fundraise, in another sign that scaled consumer brands are returning to the market.
- Supreme Group is looking for a strategic investor for its textile unit, signalling a possible portfolio reshuffle at the industrial products maker.
- HUL has pushed back against talk of a foods divestment after Unilever confirmed discussions following an inbound approach, though no deal is certain.
- Uttar Pradesh may defer plans to privatise state power discoms, adding another delay to a divestment process that has struggled to gain traction.
- Rangsons Aerospace is pursuing another overseas acquisition, as Indian defence manufacturers continue to use cross-border deals to widen their capabilities.
- L’Oréal is in talks for a majority stake in Innovist at a valuation of around ₹4,000 crore, underscoring global beauty groups’ appetite for India’s digital-first brands.
- Talks over a possible Thyssenkrupp Steel sale to Jindal have stalled, leaving a closely watched industrial transaction in limbo.
- A Samarsh-backed pharma portfolio company is said to be eyeing a valuation of about $182 million, opening the door to a potential monetisation event for its backers.
- True North is preparing to launch a second credit fund with a corpus about 50% larger than its first, signalling a bigger push into private credit.
- Blue Tokai is exploring funding from a multi-family office, as premium consumer names keep drawing interest despite a more selective market.
- India may shelve privatisation plans for three state-owned firms after weak investor appetite hit the government’s broader divestment agenda.
- ABC Impact is set to add another company to its India portfolio, extending the Temasek-backed fund’s presence in the market.
- Standard Chartered is reviewing offers from Kotak and Federal Bank for its credit-card-only customer base in India, as it trims non-core retail exposure.
Fundraising
- Plum has raised $20 million in a Peak XV-led Series B round, giving the corporate insurance startup fresh capital to scale its health and benefits platform.
- Somerset Indus has closed its third fund at $288 million, beating its original target and reinforcing LP appetite for healthcare-focused bets in India.
- Neo Group has secured $53 million from TVS Capital and affiliates, adding more firepower to its wealth and alternatives platform.
- Enterprise procurement startup Aerchain has raised $13 million in Series A funding led by Pavestone, as buyers back AI tools built for large corporates.
- Assiduus Global has raised $25 million in pre-Series B funding led by Bajaj Finserv, with proceeds earmarked for AI capabilities and overseas expansion.
- Rocketlane has secured $60 million in a Series C round led by Insight Partners, as enterprise software investors continue to favour operational AI use cases.
- Fullife Healthcare, the company behind Fast&Up, has raised ₹300 crore from Elev8 Venture Partners and its LPs, in a sizeable bet on consumer wellness.
- NDR InvIT has raised ₹410 crore through bonds, with the proceeds largely set to fund acquisitions in logistics and warehousing.
- Euler Motors has brought in ₹437.5 crore in fresh equity and another ₹250 crore in debt, showing continued support for commercial EV makers.
- Cactus Partners has started work on its second VC fund, returning to the market after backing names such as Lohum and ParkMate.
- Swish has raised $38 million in a Series B round led by Hara Global and Bain Capital Ventures, as investors keep testing India’s faster-delivery food models.
- Pranos Fusion has secured $6.8 million in seed funding, bringing more capital into India’s still nascent fusion energy space.
- ACEN has obtained bank funding for a 100-MW wind project in Karnataka, adding another financing line to India’s renewables build-out.
- Zouk is drawing strong investor interest for a fresh Series B round, as backers continue to circle scaled D2C brands.
- Athulya is preparing a fresh fundraise as it expands from senior care into hospitals, widening its healthcare playbook.
- 360 ONE is set to finance a founder-led stake buyback at AIMS, in a debt deal linked to the exit of existing investors.
- Ecofy has raised $42 million from BII, Finnfund and existing investors, giving the green lender extra room to scale climate-focused financing.
- Mozark has landed $40 million in a round led by IFC and RMB Capitalworks, backing the company’s digital performance and testing platform.
- ReNew’s C&I platform has secured $95 million in equity led by LeapFrog, as capital keeps flowing to industrial decarbonisation themes.
- BlackSoil has raised nearly $22 million in debt from Impact Fund Denmark, adding firepower for climate-aligned and inclusive lending.
- Sunsure has secured a bank loan for 242 MWp of solar projects in India, extending the pipeline of financed clean-energy assets.
- ReNew is lining up an $800 million refinancing loan, in what would be one of the larger debt transactions in India’s clean-energy space this year.
- Axis Bank will inject ₹1,500 crore into Axis Finance via a rights issue, strengthening the capital base of its NBFC arm.
- Svasti Microfinance has secured ₹47.5 crore from existing investors including Adar Poonawalla and Abler Nordic, extending support from its core backer group.
- Burger Singh has raised ₹82 crore in a Series B round led by Artal Asia, giving the QSR chain more capital to scale operations.
Job moves
- ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India is set for a leadership handover, with Amit Harlalka replacing Dilip Oommen as CEO from July.
- Kiran Mani has left JioStar to lead OpenAI’s Asia Pacific push, in a notable executive move across media and AI.
- Flipkart’s group CFO is stepping down as the Walmart-owned company prepares for an India IPO, triggering a reshuffle at the top of finance.
- ChrysCapital has elevated three executives to senior partner roles, further broadening its leadership bench after a record fundraise.
- Tishman Speyer’s India head has stepped down, marking a senior exit at the US property developer’s local business.
- Shravin Bharti Mittal will become deputy chairman of Airtel Africa as Sunil Bharti Mittal prepares to step back from the role.
- Network18 has appointed former Times Group CEO Raj Jain as an additional independent director, adding another senior media executive to its board.
- Daimler Truck Innovation Center India has named Radhakrishnan Kodakkal as CEO, handing the unit to a former Whirlpool executive.
- Kiwi has appointed Sumeet Basrani as chief business officer, strengthening its commercial team as credit-on-UPI adoption gathers pace.
- JP Morgan has tapped HSBC veteran Rahul Badhwar as its India country officer, signalling another senior banking move in the market.
- OnePlus India chief Robin Liu is stepping down and moving back to China, as the company adjusts its regional leadership structure.
- Sterlite Electric has brought in Frederic Trefois as group CEO, betting on international experience as grid demand accelerates.
- Aditya Birla Fashion has named Nikhil Modha as CFO designate, with the transition to be completed in 2027.
- Simplilearn has made three senior appointments across marketing, business and finance, reinforcing its top team as it pushes global growth.
- ABFRL has named Suraj Bahirwani as Pantaloons’ CEO-designate, with the leadership transition set for October.
- Bharat Petroleum has appointed Manoj Heda to lead its Singapore unit, ahead of the trading arm’s operational launch in April.
- HDFC Bank chairman Atanu Chakraborty has resigned with immediate effect, citing ethical concerns in a surprise governance shake-up.
- Amritanshu Khaitan has stepped down from the board of McLeod Russel, marking another change at the tea group’s top level.
IPOs
- Bharat PET has filed draft papers for a ₹760 crore IPO, with the issue set to combine fresh shares and an offer for sale.
- Manipal Health has filed its DRHP for an IPO that could raise ₹8,000 crore, setting up one of the bigger healthcare listings in the pipeline.
- Zetwerk is preparing a confidential India IPO filing at a target valuation of about $4 billion, despite softer market sentiment.
- SBI Mutual Fund has filed for an IPO of up to 20.37 crore shares, potentially unlocking value in one of the country’s largest asset managers.
- Thomas Cook India plans to demerge its resort business into Sterling Holidays and list the subsidiary, in a move designed to unlock value.
- PhonePe has paused its IPO plans amid war-led market volatility, becoming one more high-profile candidate to step back from listing.
- Neuberg Diagnostics is targeting an IPO within six months, betting that strong demand in advanced pathology and radiology will support the story.
- Paras Healthcare has revived plans for an IPO that could raise as much as $200 million, bringing another hospital operator back to the market.
- Cube Highways Trust has filed to convert from a private to a public InvIT and plans to raise ₹5,000 crore through an OFS.
- Reliance Jio has hired 17 banks for a potential IPO that could exceed $4 billion, laying the groundwork for one of India’s largest listings.
- NSE is said to have set a relatively modest advisory fee for its $2.5 billion IPO, as preparations for the long-delayed listing continue.
