Page 7 - Companies

IvyCap Ventures announces first close for its Fund 3 at Rs 1,608 cr

Two-thirds has been raised from existing investors. Quite a few new institutional investors including banks, insurance companies and govt depts have also participated

Automaker Stellantis reaps $15-billion profit in 1st year of merger

Automaker Stellantis said Wednesday that it made 13.4 billion euros (USD 15.2 billion) in its first year after it was formed from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group. The earnings nearly tripled profits compared with its pre-merger existence as two separate companies, as the maker of Jeep, Opel and Peugeot vehicles exploited cost efficiencies from combining the businesses. The result compared to a combined 4.79 billion euros for the separate companies in 2020 before the merger, which took effect on Jan. 17, 2021. Revenue for the combined business rose 14per cent, to 152 billion euros. CEO Carlos Tavares said the results prove that Stellantis is well positioned to deliver strong performance" and had overcome intense headwinds during the year. Automakers have struggled with shortages of key parts such as semiconductor electronic components and rising costs for raw materials as the global rebound from the worst of the coronavirus pandemic brings more demand. The co

Baaz Bikes raises $2 mn in funding round led by Kalaari Capital

Baaz says it aims to solve the critical problems faced by gig delivery workers, i.e., long range requirements, rising petrol costs, lack of capex to buy bikes and heavy downtime due to maintenance

Cosmea Financial launches Torus Private Wealth; targets $1 bn in AUM

Sam Ghosh promoted Cosmea Financial Holdings (CFH) announced the launch of Torus Private Wealth with a target of achieving an asset base of $1 billion in the next 3 years.

Tesco has moved from being service-led to engineering -based firm: CEO

UK-based retail giant is 'at the table with the leaders' in Indian business services industry, says Sumit Mitra.

HCL Tech extends relationship with RACV through multi-year contract

IT company HCL Technologies has extended its relationship with The Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV) with a multi-year agreement to provide Integration-as-a-Service offering. The company did not divulge the size of the contract. As a motoring club, RACV is a member-driven organisation that provides a range of products and services in motoring and mobility, home, leisure, financial services and general insurance. HCL has helped ramp RACV's digital platform by enabling a backbone that promotes self-service, an increased digital footprint and a seamless experience for 2.1 million RACV members across Victoria. The 'Integration-as-a-Service' platform bundles various accelerators around code automation and monitoring, which contributes toward a more stable IT environment and notably improves the performance and resilience of RACV's member-facing services. "As part of the renewed relationship, HCL's API-led (application programming interface) architecture will reduce complexity wi

Wealth management start-up Fintso looking at $10-million funding

Fintso, the start-up focused on financial advisors in the wealth management space, is looking at raising at least USD 10 million from venture capital funds by late-March or early-April. The API-based platform-as-a-service for financial advisors and their clients was launched by George Mitra, who was the chief executive of Avendus Wealth, and Rajan Pathak, a wealth management veteran, in November 2020 and has already raised USD3 million in the first round. Fintso helps independent financial product providers get easy access to retail investors by giving them access to multi-products, digital execution, and advisory support and now caters to over 3,400 independent distributors/agents, who are servicing 15 lakh retail clients having assets of Rs 1.4 lakh crore, Mitra said. The company had initial funding of USD 3 million from angels and family offices, including Kanwaljit Singh of Fireside Ventures, Nikhil Vora of Sixth Sense, Brijesh Agarwal who co-founded Indiamart, and Piyush Gupta,

Hindujas-backed MindMaze secures $105 mn funding led by Concord Health

Hindujas-backed digital neuro-therapeutics solutions provider MindMaze on Thursday said it has secured a USD 105 million (over Rs 785 crore) financing led by Concord Health Partners, a US-based healthcare private equity firm. The round also witnessed participation from London-based Hambro Perks and other family office investment groups, the company said in a statement without disclosing their identity. MindMaze said AlbaCore Capital Group, one of Europe's leading specialist investors focusing on public and private markets, is also building on its existing investment in the company as a reflection of their continued commitment in it. The financing round provides immediate access to funds, and a financing facility to fund growth and future acquisitions, the company said, adding the funding would also help accelerate global commercial growth plans, enhance ongoing R&D and consolidate the clinical development pipeline of its digital therapeutic solutions for a wide spectrum of ...

BioNTech unveils new mobile vaccine factories for developing world

Germany's BioNTech has developed a vaccine factory made from shipping containers that it plans to ship to Africa

Edtech startup LEAD announces ESOP liquidation plan of $3 mn for staff

Edtech start up LEAD on Wednesday announced an ESOP Liquidation Plan of about USD 3 million (about Rs 22.5 crore) for its employees. The move comes at a time when LEAD is aiming for a "high growth trajectory" following the recent series E fundraise of USD 100 million led by WestBridge Capital with participation from GSV Ventures. The company attained the 'unicorn' status with that funding at a valuation of USD 1.1 billion. A startup with a valuation of over USD 1 billion is called 'unicorn'. LEAD, in a statement, announced an ESOP (Employee Stock Option Plan) Liquidation Plan of close to USD 3 million for its employees. The current ESOP liquidation plan is a "significant opportunity," given that LEAD's valuation has doubled in the last nine months on the back of strong growth in operating and financial metrics, the statement said. Its co-founder and CEO, Sumeet Mehta said, Our success would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of our teams. I'm delighted that we

IndiGo to seek shareholders' nod for Rahul Bhatia's appointment as MD

InterGlobe Aviation will seek shareholders' approval for appointment of co-founder Rahul Bhatia as the Managing Director

Tencent-backed Sea's $16-bn crash signals trouble beyond India shutout

Sea Ltd. lost more than $16 billion of value in its biggest daily market drop after India abruptly banned its most popular mobile gaming title

Intel acquires Israeli chip maker Tower Semiconductor for $5.4 bn

Chip-maker Intel confirmed it is acquiring Israeli contract chip manufacturer Tower Semiconductor for approximately $5.4 billion.

Related-party trouble

Seeking shareholder approval would impede normal functioning

Paytm gross merchandise value doubles to Rs 83,481 cr in January

Digital payments and financial service firm Paytm on Monday said gross merchandise value (GMV) processed through its platform more than doubled to Rs 83,481 crore in January.

YES Bank seeks redemption of tier-II bonds worth Rs 1,763 crore

This is part of its plan to retire high-cost instruments before close of the current financial

How Tata Steel's bid for ailing NINL fits in with the major's strategy

On January 31 - the eve of the Union Budget - Tata Steel Long Products, a subsidiary of Tata Steel, was declared the winning bidder for a 93.71 per cent stake in Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited

Cos can gain $357 bn in profits a year with people focus, ESG: Infosys arm

While digital adoption and ESG orientation individually drive profits, they are more effective together, says the Infosys Digital Radar 2022 report

Dubai and India's financial regulators seek closer cooperation

Dubai's financial regulator and India's International Financial Services Centre Authority have signed a memorandum of understanding to increase supervision, enforcement and oversight on companies

FMCG major Dabur India's healthy run comes riding on growth triggers

Distribution, new product contribution, and portfolio expansion are positive