Author
Harsh Batra
Harsh Batra
Aditya Birla Group delivered India’s standout transaction this week, agreeing to acquire renewable energy platform Sprng Energy from Shell for $1.8bn, including debt. The acquisition will add 5 GW of operational and contracted wind and solar capacity to Aditya Birla Renewables, increasing its portfolio to 9.3 GW and establishing it as one of India’s largest renewable energy operators. Reuters reported that the transaction is expected to close by the end of 2026.
The sale also reflects Shell’s continued retreat from selected renewable energy investments as it redirects capital towards its core oil, gas and trading operations.
And in other news this week:
- Warburg Pincus acquired Mumbai-based pharmaceutical company Integrace from True North and Temasek in a ₹1,200 crore transaction.
- Aurum PropTech agreed to acquire Housing.com owner Locon Solutions from REA Group through a ₹458 crore all-share deal.
- Aviva agreed to buy Dabur Invest Corp’s remaining 26% stake in Aviva India, giving the UK insurer full ownership of the business.
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Deals Tracker
Rumour mill
- Advent International has opened talks with consumer groups and private equity firms over the sale of its entire 96.63% stake in DFM Foods, the maker of Crax snacks.
- Borosil Renewables is reportedly in preliminary discussions over a potential strategic investment, according to CNBC-TV18.
- Vibgyor Group of Schools is seeking its first external capital through a minority stake sale and has appointed Avendus Capital to advise on the transaction.
- KKR-backed Lighthouse Learning Group is reportedly close to acquiring Pathways School in Gurugram for approximately ₹1,500 crore.
- Permira, KKR and TPG Capital have emerged as the leading bidders for a stake in maternity and childcare hospital chain Cloudnine.
- Deccan Pumps is in advanced talks with a New York-based agricultural technology company over the sale of a significant minority stake.
- Virtual restaurant operator Dil Foods is in talks to acquire Bengaluru-based cloud-kitchen brand FreshMenu through a distressed sale.
- Hindustan Copper said discussions over its proposed acquisition of four Chilean copper blocks from state-owned Codelco were moving in a positive direction.
- Invus is close to investing ₹500 crore for a minority stake in Popo Ventures, in a deal that could value the restaurant operator at ₹1,100–1,350 crore.
- Adani Energy Solutions, Actis and Apraava Energy have been shortlisted for the next round of talks over I Squared Capital-owned Polaris Smart Metering.
- Carlyle is set to invest ₹1,175 crore ($125 million) for a controlling stake in defence electronics component manufacturer Micropack.
- Homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital is in advanced discussions to acquire a significant stake in speciality coffee chain Blue Tokai.
- ITC Infotech has emerged as the frontrunner to acquire a majority stake in Happiest Minds Technologies, although the transaction terms are still being finalised.
- Warburg Pincus, Bain Capital, TA Associates and CVC are reportedly in early-stage discussions to acquire a 25% stake in Agappe Diagnostics.
- Jewellery brand Giva is in advanced talks with TPG, Sofina and Multiples over an $80–100 million investment that could value the company at around ₹6,000 crore.
- Canada’s Fairfax Financial and Dubai-based Emirates NBD have submitted revised bids for a majority stake in IDBI Bank being divested by the Indian government and Life Insurance Corporation of India.
- Zurich Insurance is evaluating the acquisition of Kotak Mahindra Bank’s remaining stake in their general insurance joint venture, which would give Zurich full ownership.
- Actis, IndiGrid and Inox are in discussions to acquire Brookfield’s 550 MW renewable energy portfolio in India.
- Adyar Ananda Bhavan’s owners have revived plans to sell a stake in the restaurant and sweets business at a valuation of ₹3,000–3,500 crore, with Bodhi Tree reportedly in talks to acquire the interest.
- Vitruvian Partners is in advanced talks to acquire either a minority or controlling stake in an undisclosed Indian pharmaceutical formulations manufacturer.
IPOs
- State Bank of India will place a 1.42% stake in SBI Funds Management with 30 investors for ₹1,655 crore ahead of the asset manager’s planned IPO.
- SEBI has cleared IPO proposals from Tonbo Imaging India, Zetwerk Manufacturing Business, Marri Retail and Gujarat Victory Forgings, allowing the four companies to proceed with their listings.
- SBI Funds Management’s $1.03 billion IPO was fully subscribed on its second day, attracting bids for approximately 212 million shares against the 124.56 million offered and valuing the company at ₹1.17 trillion.
Fundraising
- Fundamentum Partnership has launched its third venture capital fund with a ₹2,200 crore corpus to invest in growth-stage Indian start-ups.
- A $10 million pre-Series B round led by Bajaj Finserv Ventures has provided fresh capital to customer experience platform Kapture CX, with Cactus Venture Partners and India Alternatives also participating.
- REC has provided ACME Solar with ₹2,646.64 crore in long-term financing for a 450 MW solar and battery storage project.
- Neo Group brought in approximately ₹350 crore through a funding round led by Peak XV Partners to support its wealth and asset management expansion.
- A Stakeboat Capital-led investor group has committed $14 million to Quick Clean’s Series B round, supporting the expansion of its technology-enabled laundry operations.
- Contract cosmetics manufacturer Naturis Cosmetics completed its first institutional fundraising, securing ₹100 crore in a round led by Sharrp Ventures.
- An $11.3 million Series A round led by Elevation Capital will support sales intelligence start-up Reo.Dev’s expansion in the US.
- Manufacturing technology company SwitchOn attracted $8 million in a pre-Series B mix of equity and debt, with IvyCap Ventures leading the round.
- Biotechnology start-up Mandrake Bio closed a ₹16 crore pre-seed round co-led by Activate and Antler to develop its AI-assisted protein design platform.
- Inflection Point Ventures backed pod-hotel operator NapTapGo with ₹8 crore in seed funding for its next phase of expansion.
- Arkam Ventures led a $1.1 million seed investment in KuhlTherm, which develops liquid-cooling systems for high-performance computing infrastructure.
- Lok Capital has secured a commitment from a returning offshore limited partner for its fifth private equity fund; the amount was not disclosed.
- An offshore investor has provided funding to L&T Finance’s non-banking lending arm, although the investor and transaction value were not disclosed.
- Ather Energy’s board approved a ₹1,200 crore preferential issue and a separate ₹1,500 crore qualified institutional placement, creating capacity to raise up to ₹2,700 crore.
- A Creaegis-led $130 million Series C round has lifted AI software start-up Emergent’s valuation to approximately $1.5 billion.
- Electric mobility company E3 Electric.Ai received ₹100 crore in Series A equity and debt financing led by BluVenture.
- Healthy-snacking brand Open Secret brought in ₹50 crore through a combination of equity and institutional debt to widen its offline distribution.
- Fireside Ventures led a ₹30 crore seed round for fresh-staples platform Anmasa, with Blume Ventures and other investors also participating.
- Maternal-care start-up Promom obtained ₹30 crore from Fireside Ventures in its first institutional fundraising.
- Angel and high-net-worth investors backed accounting technology platform Hisabkitab in a seed round that valued the business at ₹20 crore; the amount raised was not disclosed.
- Aurrevia has launched a Category III alternative investment fund with a $10 million anchor commitment from the Kothari Family Office through Aarii Ventures.
- Blume Ventures added a domestic limited partner to the investor base of its fifth venture capital fund; financial terms were not reported.
- Business-to-business commerce platform Udaan arranged $160 million in financing while restructuring its debt and simplifying its capital structure.
- Elevation Capital closed its ninth India-focused venture fund at $500 million, targeting early-stage technology businesses.
- Drone manufacturer ideaForge completed a ₹500 crore qualified institutional placement to finance its next phase of growth.
- BiofuelCircle secured ₹35 crore in bridge funding to strengthen its biomass supply-chain platform ahead of a planned Series B round.
- Tanglin Venture Partners led a $2 million pre-seed investment in footwear start-up BUILT.
- The Antariksh Venture Capital Fund made its first investment by deploying ₹60 crore into space technology company Dhruva Space.
- Education technology platform sortmyprep collected $350,000 in pre-seed capital to develop its AI capabilities and expand its reach.
- Shapoorji Pallonji priced a ₹21,500 crore financing package with Deutsche Bank, BlackRock and other global investors participating.
- Flexible workspace aggregator Stylework secured $1 million in the second close of its pre-Series B round, led by Auxano Capital.
- Zee Entertainment has called an extraordinary general meeting to seek shareholder approval for a ₹3,143.5 crore convertible warrant issue.
- Real estate developer Paradigm Realty obtained ₹100 crore in structured financing from Arnya RealEstates Fund for its residential project in Mumbai.
- Grocery retailer Sumosave Retail raised ₹50 crore in a pre-Series B round led by 12 Flags to expand its store network and supply chain.
- Lab-grown diamond jewellery brand Aukera received ₹90 crore in debt financing led by Alteria Capital.
- AustralianSuper committed an additional A$500 million (approximately $346 million) to the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, increasing its exposure to India’s infrastructure market.
- OrbiMed Asia invested ₹350 crore in fertility care provider Iswarya Fertility to support the expansion of its clinic network.
- Blume Ventures, Alpha Wave, Peak XV Partners and other investors have deployed approximately $8.3 million into WizCommerce.
- An ongoing funding round has brought ₹82.3 crore into rural commerce platform Wheelocity, with backing from existing and new investors.
- SAVE Microfinance arranged ₹40 crore in debt financing from Indian Overseas Bank and Northern Arc to expand lending in underserved markets.
- Space technology start-up BAAS Technologies completed a ₹5 crore pre-seed round led by Inflection Point Ventures.
- Artists and technology investors have provided $3.75 million in pre-seed funding to music technology company thumpN.
- ABGD Ventures led a strategic investment in healthcare technology company Docstribe to accelerate its expansion across the US and Gulf markets; the amount was not disclosed.
