James Murdoch firm leads $2 bn funding in Ambani media arm

Top of the Morning

In this episode, find out about HUL becoming Rs 50,000 crore turnover company, also find out why Bajaj Auto saw a drop in Q4 results.
Business Term of the Day: Poison Pill

A firm led by James Murdoch and a former head of Walt Disney India will invest 135 billion rupees in a venture backed by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. Bodhi Tree Systems will lead a group of investors to pour the cash into Viacom18 — a joint venture between Ambani and Viacom. Reliance Projects will invest an additional Rs 1,645 crore. The partnership comes as Reliance is preparing to bid for broadcast rights of the Indian Premier League,. It will have to battle Amazon.com Inc., The Walt Disney Co., Sony Group Corp. and homegrown Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. for the win.

FMCG major Hindustan Unilever Ltd on Wednesday reported a 5.34 per cent increase in its consolidated net profit to ₹2,307 crore for the fourth quarter ended in March 2022 despite flat volume growth due to unprecedented inflation. Moreover, HUL has now become a ₹50,000 crore turnover company and also the first pure FMCG firm to achieve this milestone. The company now has 16 brands with a turnover of ₹1,000 crore each.

Bajaj Auto: The firm on Wednesday reported a 2 per cent decline in consolidated net profit at ₹1,526 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 2022, with sales in both domestic and export markets hit by weak demand and semiconductor shortage. The Pune-based company had reported a consolidated net profit of ₹1,551 crore in the January-March quarter of 2020-21.

 

ONGC: State-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) on Wednesday said it has signed a pact with Norwegian energy giant Equinor ASA for collaboration in oil and gas exploration and production as well as clean energy projects.

Ravi Parthasarathy, who pioneered private investment in core prjects thru failed infrastructure leasing and financial services passwed away on Wednesday following prolonged illness. The IL&FS defalt crisis had broken  out months after he stepped down, with first cracks appearing in July 2018.

Moving on to markets

 The markets are likely to have a flat opening on Thursday amid likely volatility on account of the monthly F&O expiry. At 8:00 am, the SGX Nifty futures were quoting at 17,076 levels, unchanged from their previous close.

Investors will react to corporate earnings of Nifty50 companies HUL and Bajaj Auto, in addition to tracking geo-political developments.

Business term of the day

The term poison pill refers to a defense strategy used by a target firm to prevent or discourage a potential hostile takeover by an acquiring company. Potential targets use this tactic in order to make them look less attractive to the potential acquirer. Poison pills allow existing shareholders the right to purchase additional shares at a discount, effectively diluting the ownership interest of a new, hostile party.