Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
It was a tense week for Asian markets, with equities turning the other way. Among Indian assets traded on the NASDAQ, gains were confined to a handful of sectors, healthcare among them, while others melted. Tech infrastructure in particular, amid sharp swings, traded mostly as a buyers’ market. Which points at the driver: this time it is not the Strait of Hormuz, but space.
SpaceX lists this week in what is set to be the largest IPO in history, the marker of a Wall Street boom that Anthropic and OpenAI are expected to follow, and the trigger for a global reallocation of capital. In Bloomberg’s reading, India’s offerings are left “fighting for attention”.
While the money moves towards the giants, Indian M&A cooled in May. Grant Thornton Bharat’s Dealtracker recorded 190 M&A and PE deals worth $10.2 billion, against 212 worth $21.8 billion in April, a 10% contraction in volumes.
But, according to Shanthi Vijetha, Partner at Grant Thornton Bharat, the drop in value is less dramatic than it reads. April carried Sun Pharma‘s $11.8 billion acquisition of Organon, and excluding that outlier, deal values remained largely stable month on month, he says.
Cross-border acquisitions remained the primary driver of M&A, with outbound transactions accounting for 76% of total M&A value, led by Bharti Airtel‘s near $3 billion increase in its Airtel Africa stake. Private equity, for its part, held up, with volumes up 5% and values up 25% to $3.9 billion, though concentrated in a handful of large bets.
Movement held up in the second week of June. The deal highlights:
- The rumours were true. Inox Clean Energy has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Vena Energy India’s 6 GW renewable portfolio, with sources putting the value at about ₹6,000 crore. The portfolio spans 1.2 GW operational, 1.8 GW nearing commissioning and 3 GW in development, and marks the INOXGFL Group‘s tenth acquisition in ten months.
- In block deals worth a combined ₹5,750 crore, SBI Mutual Fund bought stakes in Adani Enterprises and Adani Energy Solutions from GQG Partners. The larger leg involved 1.64 crore Adani Enterprises shares at ₹2,913.40 apiece, about ₹4,789 crore, while GQG separately sold 63.66 lakh Adani Energy Solutions shares at ₹1,504.80, around ₹958 crore. It follows a similar GQG-to-SBI transfer in mid May.
- That was not the only move involving Adani Energy Solutions. The same week, the company signed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of IntelliSmart Infrastructure, for ₹3,050 crore. The quarry one day, the hunter the next.
For more insights and conversations about the market, connect with me on LinkedIn.
Enjoy the read.
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Rumour mill
- An investment vehicle of ADIA is looking to pare its stake in eyewear retailer Lenskart through a block deal worth ₹1,944 crore ($204 million). According to a term sheet reviewed by the press, the floor price has been set at ₹486 per share, a discount of 2.8 per cent to Lenskart’s closing price of ₹500.15 on the BSE
- Voler Car emerges highest bidder for Blue Smart Mobility, which is undergoing insolvency proceedings
- Ather Energy is considering a fresh fundraise just over a month after its stock market debut, as the electric two-wheeler maker’s board prepares to meet on June 12 to approve a proposal for raising capital through multiple routes
- ConnectM is divesting its 94.1%-owned subsidiary Global Impx (which holds ConnectM India and its subsidiaries, including Geo Impex and its strategic land asset) in a sale to Blue Cloud. The transaction is valued at $34.2 million and is expected to convert India operating assets representing 5.8% of annual revenue into 160 million Blue Cloud shares and an approximately 17.3% post-issue equity position
- AlphaGrep Investment Management is set to enter the mutual fund industry with the launch of its first scheme next month and is targeting AUM of ₹25,000-30,000 crore over the next three to five years
- The Indian government is considering selling a 2% stake in Hindustan Zinc, raising up to ₹5,000 crore
Regulatory
- Anzen India Energy Yield Plus Trust has completed the acquisition of 100 per cent of SEPL Energy, the final solar asset in the broader Edelweiss Infrastructure Yield Plus portfolio it is absorbing. The InvIT bought the 74 per cent balance at an enterprise value of around ₹2,520 crore, funded in part by a ₹696.44 crore preferential unit issue at ₹117 per unit, lifting AUM roughly threefold to ₹6,552 crore across 15 assets totalling 1.2 GWp. The sponsor is changing from SEPL to Epic Green Urja
- Gujjubhai Industries, formerly Sumuka Agro, has completed its merger with Gujjubhai Foods, a Thane-based maker of Gujarati namkeens and FMCG products, in a 17.5:10 share swap effective 23 February 2026. The deal lifts promoter holding from 27.71 per cent to 63.75 per cent
- NCLT has cleared an LLP merger while expressly preserving the Income Tax Department’s right to examine the arrangement for tax avoidance, a reminder that tribunal approval does not foreclose later revenue scrutiny
- The NCLT Mumbai bench has approved the merger of Arrka Infosec into its parent Persistent Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary absorption that issues no new shares and is aimed at simplifying the group structure. The order is dated 21 April 2026, with an appointed date of 1 April 2025
- The NCLT Chandigarh bench has approved a dispensation of meetings for the merger of AmberPR Technoplast into Amber Enterprises, its wholly-owned subsidiary. The order is dated 5 June 2026, with an appointed date of 1 April 2026
- The NCLT Allahabad bench has allowed the first motion in the amalgamation of eight Radico group companies, comprising Radico Spiritzs and seven step-down entities spanning spirits and real estate, into Radico Khaitan. The 1 June 2026 order dispenses with meetings and the scheme involves no consideration
- LIC’s investment in Rajesh Exports has come under scrutiny after SEBI issued an interim order alleging large-scale financial misreporting at the Bengaluru-based company, raising fresh questions about institutional due diligence and corporate governance standards
IPOs
- Carlyle has invited pitches from investment banks for a potential India IPO of the revenue-cycle-management business it assembled by merging Knack RCM and EqualizeRCM, the latter acquired last month. Knack alone employs around 8,000 staff out of Woodbridge, New Jersey; presentations are happening this week, with size and valuation still to be set
- Carlsberg is preparing draft papers for a roughly $700 million (₹6,650 crore) India IPO, structured as a secondary offer for sale, with Kotak Mahindra Capital, JPMorgan and Citi on the ticket. India’s second-largest brewer with around 22 per cent share, it operates 14 breweries and entered the market in 2007
- Quick-commerce firm Zepto has filed an updated draft prospectus for a roughly $1 billion IPO, comprising ₹8,010 crore of fresh issue plus a 113.47 million-share offer for sale, with promoters Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra keeping their 18.47 per cent intact. Set to be India’s biggest tech listing this year, it runs seven bookrunners and targets a July 2026 debut
- Aluminium and non-ferrous recycler CMR Green drew around $6 billion in bids for its $66 million (₹630.88 crore) all-secondary IPO, a 127.04 times subscription that saw the QIB book covered 270 times. The stock listed on 10 June 2026 at a 40-plus per cent premium, opening at ₹275.40 against the ₹192 issue price, and ended a month-long lull in the primary market
- Paras Healthcare has filed draft papers with SEBI for a ₹1,800 crore IPO, comprising ₹500 crore of fresh issue and ₹1,300 crore of offer for sale under the Paras Health brand. The chain runs eight hospitals with 2,211 beds, targeting 3,011 by FY28, and reported FY26 revenue of ₹1,605.95 crore; JM Financial, BofA and Nuvama are the bookrunners on a revived attempt after a shelved 2024 plan
- Kuku Technologies, the MS Dhoni-backed audio platform behind Kuku FM, has confidentially filed for an IPO of ₹2,500-3,500 crore at a valuation near ₹15,000 crore ($1.8 billion), combining fresh issue and offer for sale. Founded in 2018 by three IIT alumni and backed by Krafton, Vertex and Granite Asia among others, it posted FY26 revenue of around ₹1,400 crore, a sixfold jump, with bankers Kotak, Jefferies, JM and Axis
- Hexagon Nutrition’s IPO closed 53.68 times subscribed on 9 June 2026. The ₹138.87 crore issue was entirely an offer for sale by the Kelkar family, priced at ₹42-45 a share, with the micronutrient-premix and clinical-nutrition maker reporting nine-month FY26 net profit of ₹27.03 crore. The shares list on 12 June
Job moves
- RBL Bank is reportedly set to appoint HDFC Bank’s Bhavin Lakhpatwala as chief financial officer, subject to board and RBI approval. A 22-year HDFC Bank veteran, most recently senior executive vice president and head of investor relations, he would replace interim CFO Deepak Ruiya and marks the lender’s first senior hire since Emirates NBD took a 60 per cent stake worth around ₹26,850 crore
- Cars24 has appointed Infosys CFO Jayesh Sanghrajka as an independent director ahead of a planned IPO in the next six to 12 months. An audit-committee member since 2021 with around 14 years at Infosys and a background in M&A and post-merger integration, he joins amid a run of top-deck exits, with H1 FY26 adjusted net revenue up 18 per cent year on year to ₹651 crore
- ZEE5 India has appointed Tejkarran Singh Bajaj as business head for AI and innovation, reporting to Amit Goenka. A ZEE5 founding-team member who launched more than 25 originals, he returns after seven and a half years as SVP of originals at Jio Studios, while Siju Prabhakaran shifts to ZEE5’s global business
- Ad-Manum Finance, an Indore-based NBFC with interests in wind power and finance, has named Manish Chandan as chief financial officer and key managerial personnel
- Avendus has appointed Gaurav Arora as managing director and head of infrastructure and real assets investment banking, a practice focused on InvITs and REITs. He arrives after roughly a decade across UBS, Deutsche Bank and Jefferies, and replaces the departed Prateek Jhawar at the Mizuho-backed firm
- Billboard India has appointed Preeti Nayyar as chief operating officer, joining after around nine years at Universal Music
- Dentsu Creative has appointed Manika Juneja as chief operating officer, an internal elevation from her previous role as managing partner
- Dredging Corporation of India has appointed Jasmeet Singh Bindra, a 1997-batch IRTS officer and chairman of Visakhapatnam Port Authority, as additional director and chairman effective 9 June 2026. He replaces Dr M. Angamuthu, who ceased on 20 May
- Edelweiss Asset Reconstruction Company has appointed Arun Mehta as managing director and CEO for an RBI-approved five-year term. A former SBICAP MD and CEO with four decades at the State Bank of India, he succeeds interim head Mythili Balasubramanian. EARC posted FY26 recoveries of ₹8,590 crore, up 50 per cent year on year
- Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers has appointed Dr Vijay N. Zade, a 2002-batch IAS officer and joint secretary for naval systems, as a government nominee director, replacing Dinesh Mahur. The defence yard, which has delivered more than 800 platforms including 118 warships, reported Q4 FY26 net profit of ₹303.20 crore, up 24.1 per cent
- IndoSpace has appointed Balkrishna Jha as vice president of marketing, joining from a digital lead role at Aditya Birla Housing Finance
- Rajiv Bajaj is to step down as non-executive director of Bajaj Finserv after the 31 July 2026 AGM, declining to seek re-election as he cites expanded duties at Bajaj Auto, including its tech and credit arms and the KTM acquisition. He is also exiting the Bajaj Finance board
- SBI Mutual Fund has appointed Pooja Menon Vaidya as assistant vice president of digital marketing, joining from the same role at IIFL Capital Services
- ShepHertz has appointed Anuraag Kochhar as chief technology officer. With close to three decades spanning Motorola and Schlumberger and earlier CTO and CDO roles, he will lead the firm’s applied-AI platforms including AgentAnywhere and wAnywhere under founder Siddhartha Chandurkar
- Sky Gold & Diamonds has appointed Akash Talesara as CEO effective 9 June 2026, promoting him from president of sales and business development. The asset-light B2B casting jeweller posted Q4 net profit of ₹84.3 crore, up from ₹38.2 crore a year earlier, on revenue of ₹1,911.5 crore, up 81 per cent, and is targeting a net-debt-free position by FY30
- Somerset Indus Capital has elevated Vaibhav Doshi from executive director to partner. The Mumbai-based healthcare impact investor recently closed Fund III at around $288 million, ahead of its $250 million target; Doshi joined from Creador and Edelweiss
- STL Networks has appointed Chandrasekhara Rao Battula as additional director and interim CEO and whole-time director for a year, pending approvals. A telecom veteran of more than 23 years across Ericsson, UTStarcom and Reliance Infocomm, he steps in as Pankaj Malik resigns as whole-time director from 10 June 2026 but stays on as CEO until a 10 September transition
- Tata Capital has appointed Kamal Bhatia as chief risk officer effective 1 July 2026 for a two-year term. A chartered accountant with more than 24 years in banking and NBFCs, most recently SVP and chief credit officer for SME finance, he replaces Nitin Dharma, who stays until a 7 September transition after a 19-year association
Fundraising
- Zuppa, a Chennai-based maker of indigenous drones whose Hawk, Scout and Eagle platforms were deployed in Operation Sindoor, is in talks with several investors for a pre-Series A round to broaden into interceptor and loitering-munition drones. The 2008-founded firm, which builds its own PCBs and NavGati autopilot, has raised around $3.56 million to date
- Navi Technologies, founded by Sachin Bansal, is in talks to raise $250-300 million from Prosus and Accel’s growth fund at a valuation of around $1.8-2 billion. It would be the fintech’s first major external raise, earmarked for South-East Asia lending expansion, after an abandoned 2024 IPO and an earlier failed round; monthly disbursals run at ₹3,000-4,000 crore
- ASK Property Fund, part of the Blackstone-backed ASK group, has launched its fourth debt fund, ASK Real Estate Special Situations Fund IV, targeting ₹3,500 crore (around $368 million) split between a ₹1,500 crore GIFT City vehicle and ₹2,000 crore domestic. It will write solution and growth capital for mid-segment housing across six cities, including NCLT-stalled projects, targeting 20 per cent returns
- Bucketlistt has raised ₹1.07 crore in pre-seed funding at a ₹10.07 crore post-money valuation from angels including Arvind Choudhar and Yash Mehta. Founded in 2025, the curated experiences marketplace and its OkGhumo operator software have driven over ₹10 crore in bookings and 31,000 customers in five months from a Rishikesh base, with Manali, Goa and Jaipur next
- Celebal Technologies has raised ₹50 crore ($5.2 million) in debt from BlackSoil Capital, structured as strategic balance-sheet capital rather than expansion-specific funding. The 2016-founded Jaipur enterprise data and AI firm, a Microsoft and Databricks partner, reports roughly 81 per cent revenue CAGR between FY21 and FY26
- Exponent Energy has raised ₹200 crore ($21.1 million) in a Series B2 round co-led by 360 ONE Asset and TDK Ventures, with Hitachi Ventures making its first India energy investment alongside existing backers including Lightspeed and 3one4. The maker of 15-minute EV rapid-charging systems, founded by Arun Vinayak and Sanjay Byalal, has now raised $65.7 million
- Falcon Technoprojects India, a Mumbai-based mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering firm listed on NSE Emerge, has approved a rights issue of around ₹21.43 crore. It is offering 2.14 crore shares at ₹10 each in a 4:1 ratio, with proceeds going to working capital
- Ganesh Infraworld will seek shareholder approval at a 2 July 2026 EGM for a ₹51.41 crore preferential issue of 57,12,000 warrants at ₹90 each to 17 non-promoter investors, with Stellant Securities the largest allottee. The proceeds back working capital at a firm carrying an order book of around ₹2,262 crore
- The Indian government has exercised the oversubscription option in its NLC India offer for sale, taking the stake sale to 3 per cent, or 4.16 crore shares, in the Navratna lignite and power producer. With a ₹303 floor price at roughly a 5 per cent discount, the full offer is worth about ₹1,260 crore, part of an FY27 disinvestment drive that has raised ₹7,808 crore against an ₹80,000 crore target
- Hoola Health, formerly BabyMD, has raised $5 million led by Peak XV’s Surge, with W Health Ventures and angels including Ashish Gupta participating. The Bengaluru paediatric clinic network, founded in 2024 by Deeksha Senguttuvan, runs five clinics serving 20,000-plus families and plans 30 more across Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi NCR
- Integra Robotics, operated by Social Hardware International and founded in 2017 by Abhit Kumar and Cameron Norris, has raised $1.12 million in a pre-Series A round co-led by Finvolve and India Accelerator, with GrowthCap Venture Fund. The Bengaluru deep-tech firm builds cobots, unmanned ground vehicles and subsea systems for industrial and defence use; the round includes an angel liquidity component ahead of a Series A
- Java Sports, a Patna-based maker of hand-stitched leather cricket balls, has received a personal angel investment from YourStory founder Shradha Sharma. The deal funds a reverse-migration play, bringing artisans back from Jalandhar to revive sports manufacturing in Bihar, the state of Sharma’s birth
- KFin Technologies has approved a capital infusion of up to $2 million (around ₹16.7 crore) into its wholly-owned Singapore subsidiary, incorporated in June 2025, to fund fund-administration expansion via Ascent Fund Services. The board separately transferred its GIFT City operations to KFin Global Technologies (IFSC)
- Motisons Jewellers has launched a QIP at a floor price of ₹11.58 per share, a 3.5 per cent discount, with scope to offer a further 5 per cent. The Jaipur retail jeweller’s placement forms part of a broader ₹350 crore fundraising plan approved earlier this year
- Mygate has secured ₹225 crore (around $26 million) from Dharana Capital for a 12-14 per cent stake, blending primary infusion and secondary share sales. The community-management platform, which serves more than 27,000 communities and 5.7 million homes, narrowed its FY25 loss 61 per cent to ₹15.4 crore in its first major raise in over three years
- RegisterKaro, having crossed ₹100 crore in ARR, has launched Launchpad to fund up to 10 client startups a month at up to ₹50 lakh each. The Gurugram legaltech firm, founded by three chartered accountants and serving more than 50,000 clients, is turning its registration data into proprietary deal flow
- Remidio has received a Gates Foundation grant to extend its retinal-imaging and AI Oculomics platform into maternal-health screening for pre-eclampsia, anaemia and gestational diabetes across India and Africa. The Bengaluru firm’s smartphone-based device, already deployed for diabetic retinopathy, is being tested as a non-invasive alternative to laboratory diagnostics in low-resource settings
- Rivvun AI has raised an oversubscribed $7.55 million seed round co-led by Sitara Capital and 3one4 Capital. Founded by former Icertis executives, the firm splits its base between a Seattle headquarters and Pune engineering, building an agentic-AI execution layer to recover enterprise revenue and spend leakage
- Zee Entertainment’s board has approved raising a minimum of ₹2,300 crore in one or more tranches for strategic and business initiatives, with the instrument still to be decided. The move follows a FIFA broadcast deal covering 39 events and is distinct from the ₹2,237 crore promoter-warrant plan rejected by shareholders in 2025; the company posted a Q4 net loss of ₹102.4 crore
- BazaarNow has raised ₹72 crore led by Peak XV, with Whiteboard Capital, Antler and angels including Vidit Aatrey. Founded by former Zepto operators, the Bengaluru quick-commerce venture targets habit-led demand in tier-2 and tier-3 cities and plans 18 dark stores across more than 12 cities after a January 2026 launch
- Ashish Dave, former CEO of Mirae Asset Venture Investments India, has launched Sanskrit Capital, a single-GP AIF targeting a ₹700-1,000 crore maiden fund. The sector-agnostic vehicle will write ₹50-150 crore Series B and C cheques across fintech, consumer internet and enterprise AI, and is near SEBI approval
- Pakka, the Ayodhya-based compostable-packaging maker formerly known as Yash Pakka, has allotted 27.2 lakh equity shares at ₹110, raising ₹29.92 crore, alongside 77 lakh promoter-group warrants with ₹21.175 crore paid upfront. The equity went to non-promoter investors, with 13.9 lakh warrants left unsubscribed
- Tata Steel and Tata Projects are preparing to return to the corporate bond market after a gap of more than 15 months. Tata Steel is set to raise ₹3,000 crore ($313 million) via five-year paper, while Tata Projects could raise ₹500-1,000 crore across three and five-year tranches, with both waiting on yields that have eased around 50 basis points since the RBI held rates
- The Wedding Company has raised $2.75 million (around ₹25 crore) in an oversubscribed seed round led by Wellingdon Advisors, with LVX, Tremis Capital and angels including Vivek Mathur. Founded in 2023 by Pawan Gupta and Rahul Namdev, the Bengaluru full-stack wedding aggregator works with more than 2,000 vendors and lifted service order value 125 per cent to ₹115 crore in FY26
- Nexedge Capital is looking to close a roughly $25 million round led by Mirae Asset Venture Investment. The wealth firm, founded in March 2025 by former 360 One WAM co-CEO Aniruddha Taparia, oversees around $2.41 billion for 1,200 ultra-high-net-worth families with a 175-strong team
- ADIA has joined a $293 million (₹2,800 crore) QIP by ACME Solar, the renewable developer’s first equity raise since its 2024 listing, alongside BlackRock, Goldman Sachs and several domestic funds. Priced at ₹279.50, a 5 per cent discount, the proceeds will cut leverage after net debt tripled to ₹12,830 crore; FY26 revenue rose 59 per cent to ₹2,507 crore
- GPS Renewables has raised ₹635 crore in Series C funding, comprising ₹125 crore of equity led by PixelSky Capital and Spectrum Impact, ₹200 crore from a Korean conglomerate and ₹310 crore in earlier platform capital. Founded in 2012, the compressed-biogas and SAF specialist runs around ₹1,000 crore in revenue and is targeting ₹3,500 crore by FY28 ahead of a post-FY28 IPO
- Immuneel Therapeutics has raised more than ₹100 crore in Series B funding from new backers Singularity AMC and Zerodha’s Rainmatter, alongside existing investors including Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and Eight Roads. The Bengaluru CAR-T firm, co-founded by Mazumdar-Shaw and Siddhartha Mukherjee, is scaling its approved lymphoma therapy Qartemi and eyeing Asia-Pacific and Middle East markets
- FirstClub has raised $55 million in a Series B co-led by Peak XV and Sofina, with Accel and others, at a $255 million valuation, double its mark nine months earlier. The Bengaluru quality-first quick-commerce venture, founded by former Flipkart and Cleartrip executive Ayyappan R, runs 24 stores across two cities and logged 1 million-plus orders in its first year
- Ola Electric has raised around ₹780 crore via a QIP that was oversubscribed 56 per cent against a ₹500 crore target, allotting 21.76 crore shares at ₹35.86, a 5 per cent discount. Backers include Goldman Sachs and Mirae, with proceeds going to debt repayment and 4680 Bharat Cell battery manufacturing; May 2026 sales rose 23 per cent month on month even as Q4 FY26 revenue fell 56 per cent
