🌎️ A taste of Haldiram's

Good morning. Simone Biles won her eighth Olympic medal by leading the U.S. women's gymnastics team to gold in the team final. This victory broke her tie with Shannon Miller, making her the most decorated American gymnast in history.

GO ON $IMONEY! 🥇 🤸‍♀️ 

- Ruchirr Sharma & Shatakshi Sharmaa

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 🌎️ Haldiram’s is going international

• 🤖 How will AI disrupt Indian companies?

• 🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

  • 💼 It’s internship szn

  • 🧑‍🚀 Space tech startups get a boost

  • 🔋 Adani Energy to raise new funds

• 🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

• 🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

MARKETS

🇮🇳 India

• The BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 closed flat on Tuesday, with the Sensex up 0.12% and Nifty50 up 0.09%. Of Nifty50 stocks, 28 declined, led by LTIMindtree, while 22 advanced, led by Tata Motors. The BSE Smallcap index outperformed, rising 0.88%. Sectoral indices showed mixed performance, with Auto and Consumer Durables gaining, while FMCG and Pharma declined.

🌍️ International

• U.S. markets exhibited mixed performance with the day's trading influenced by tech sector weakness, mixed economic data, and varied corporate earnings reports. Microsoft reported Q4 earnings with a 15% revenue increase but its stock fell over 6% due to slightly lower-than-expected Azure growth. Investors remained cautious, balancing positive industrial data against weaker consumer confidence, while anticipating major tech earnings and upcoming Fed announcements.

INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT

🌎️ Haldiram’s is going international

Blackstone, the American investment giant, is looking to make a significant entry into India's snack market, with the firm reportedly bidding nearly ₹40,000 Cr. for a 51% stake in the iconic Indian snack brand.

This move would value Haldiram's between ₹70,000 Cr. and ₹78,000 Cr.. The deal, if successful, would give Blackstone a majority stake, controlling power, and a perpetual licence for Haldiram's product business.

Here’s the scoop: 

• Previously contentious issues, such as ownership of restaurants and brand licensing, have been resolved. 

• The Agarwal family will retain brand rights and control over restaurant operations, receiving an annual royalty for brand usage.

• Ernst and Young is conducting due diligence on behalf of Blackstone. Singapore's GIC and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority are expected to join as consortium partners, with Blackstone holding the majority stake.

• However, a Blackstone spokesperson stated they haven't re-bid since May 2024, citing a valuation mismatch. Haldiram's CEO declined to comment on the development.

Overall: If finalised, this deal could mark a significant shift in India's snack industry, with a major international player taking control of one of the country's most beloved brands. The binding term sheet is expected to be finalised in the next six to eight weeks.

Read more: Mint

ECONOMY

🤖 How will AI disrupt Indian companies?

Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising India's startup ecosystem, with two-thirds of the top 50 unicorns already employing AI or generative AI technology. 

This trend spans various sectors, including e-commerce and fintech, and extends beyond customer-facing chatbots, encompassing personalised recommendations, marketing, content generation, fraud detection, and risk management. 

While Indian startups show ambition and talent in leveraging AI, they're still evolving in terms of deployment scale and AI investment maturity compared to their global counterparts.

Here are some examples of leading startups are innovatively applying AI:

1. Flipkart uses GenAI for its virtual assistant Flippi, enhancing product discovery and customer support.

2. Myntra employs AI for personalised shopping experiences, including its AI assistant Maya and style recommendation tool My Stylist.

3. Policybazaar.com utilises AI in risk management, reducing fraud by 95% and improving turnaround times.

4. Razorpay has developed Ray, a GenAI chatbot for payments and payroll solutions.

Overall: Despite the progress, Indian startups lag behind US and Chinese counterparts in AI adoption. 

However, experts predict this gap will narrow as AI costs decrease. The integration of AI is becoming ubiquitous across the startup landscape, blurring the distinction between AI and non-AI startups.

Read more: Economic Times

GENERAL OVERVIEW

🗞️ Bite-sized summaries

💼 It’s internship szn - EaseMyTrip, a British travel booking platform, plans to hire over 500 interns across India in the next 3-6 months, supporting the government's new internship scheme. CEO Nishant Pitti announced that paid internships will be offered in various departments, particularly sales, marketing, and customer care. This initiative aligns with the government's proposed scheme to provide internships to 1 crore youth over five years, offering financial support for training. EaseMyTrip, which currently employs 900 people, sees this as an opportunity for growth and potential long-term employment for interns. The company, one of three profitable B2C e-commerce firms in its sector, has been profitable since its inception 16 years ago.

🧑‍🚀 Space tech startups get a boost - Indian space tech startups raised $126M in 2023, a 7% increase from 2022 and a 235% rise from 2021. Early-stage funding dominated, with $120M raised in 2023. Skyroot Aerospace leads as the highest-funded startup with $99.8M, followed by Pixxel and Agnikul. Bengaluru is the top-funded city, hosting over 55% of total funding. Additionally, the government has also proposed a ₹1,000 Cr. venture capital fund to support the sector. The sector focuses on small satellite launch vehicles, satellite imaging, and communication services. However, despite all this growth, late-stage funding and unicorns are absent.

🔋 Adani Energy to raise new funds - Adani Energy Solutions is planning to launch a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) to raise up to $1B within two weeks. Following a month of roadshows, interest has been expressed by US-based funds GQG Partners and Qatar Investment Authority, as well as domestic mutual funds. The company aims to initially raise $700-800M, potentially increasing to $1B based on demand. ICICI Securities, SBI Capital Markets, and Jefferies have been appointed as advisers. This marks the first equity fundraising by an Adani Group company since Adani Enterprises cancelled its ₹20,000 Cr. follow-on public offer in February 2023. The board of Adani Energy Solutions authorised raising ₹12,500 Cr. through equity in May to support expansion efforts.

HEADLINES

🧑‍🍳 What else is cookin’?

What’s happening in India (and around the world 🌍️)

• Delhi Coaching Centre Deaths: Owner sent to 14-day judicial custody.

• Ola Electric set for IPO with ₹12-13 GMP, price band at ₹72-76 a share.

• Gurgaon drew 214% of groundwater it recharged last year.

• Jaishankar rules out any role for third party in border dispute with China.

• Why Boeing and Airbus orders were muted at the year’s biggest air show.

CULTURE

🍿 Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment

• Olympics updates:

  • Manu Bhaker-Sarabjot Singh win historic bronze medal in mixed team 10m air pistol shooting.

  • Indian badminton doubles players Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy beat Indonesia’s Muhammad Rian Ardianto and Fajar Alfian 21-13, 21-13.

  • Zambia’s Patrick Chinyemba beat India’s Amit Panghal 4-1 in Men’s Flyweight boxing.

  • Indian Men’s Hockey beat Ireland 2-0 in a group-stage match.

  • India’s Manika Batra beat France’s Prithika Pavade in Round 3 of Women’s Singles Table Tennis.