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☆ Adani shares plunge further as it weighs legal action against short seller firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Jihye Lee | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Hindustan Times | Hindustan Times | Getty ImagesShares of Adani Group companies continued to see sharp losses for a second consecutive trading session in India, after short seller firm Hindenburg announced its short position in the conglomerate's firms earlier this week. Adani Transmission fell 19.47%, Adani Green Energy shed 19.89% and Adani Power lost 5%. Adani Port's share price also dropped 13.8%. Billionaire investor and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, Bill Ackman, voiced his support for the short seller firm in a tweet posted shortly before India's market open. "I found the Hindenburg report highly credible and extremely well researched," he wrote, adding that Adani Group's response "speaks volumes."

☆ Costcutter owner Bestway buys Sainsbury's stake
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( James Davey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Sainsbury's shares were up 4.5% on Friday, hitting their highest since April and leading gainers on the FTSE 100 (.FTSE) index. The 3.45% stake makes Bestway Sainsbury's sixth largest investor, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Asda was purchased by brothers Mohsin and Zuber Issa and private equity company TDR Capital for an enterprise value of 6.8 billion pounds, while Morrisons was bought by U.S. private equity firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice for 7 billion pounds. Sainsbury's proposed 7.3 billion pounds takeover of Asda was blocked by Britain's competition regulator in 2019. Shares in Sainsbury's closed on Thursday at 239.4 pence, valuing the business at 5.6 billion pounds.

☆ India's Adani Group says evaluating action against Hindenburg Research
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BENGALURU, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Adani Group said on Thursday it is evaluating "remedial and punitive action" under U.S. and Indian laws against short-seller Hindenburg Research, which in a report accused the conglomerate of improper use of offshore tax havens. In a statement to Indian exchanges, Adani Group head of legal, Jatin Jalundhwala, called the report by the U.S. research group "maliciously mischievous, (and) unresearched". "We are evaluating the relevant provisions under U.S. and Indian laws for remedial and punitive action against Hindenburg Research," the statement said. The report has "adversely affected the Adani Group, our shareholders and investors. It also said key listed Adani companies had "substantial debt" which has put the entire group on a "precarious financial footing".

☆ Adani’s buy now, pay later fundraise could sting
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Una Galani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

HONG KONG, Jan 26 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Gautam Adani is on a mission to win public acceptance for his eponymous group. The first stage of a $2.4 billion stock sale by his flagship Adani Enterprises (ADEL.NS) entity has won over anchor investors, including the well-regarded Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. They are picking up roughly $734 million of stock in India’s largest follow-on issue of new shares by a private sector company. But those of other Adani group companies including Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) and some U.S. dollar bonds at Adani Green Energy (ADNA.NS) and Adani Ports (APSE.NS) sold off sharply. For Adani investors, buy now, pay later could take on an awkward new meaning.

☆ Gulf investors bid for India's Adani Enterprises' $2.5 bln FPO - Bloomberg News
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Mubadala Investment Co PJSC and BNP Paribas SA (BNPP.PA) have also bid for shares, the report said, adding that the anchor book was oversubscribed about two times. Adani Enterprises last week set the floor price for India's largest FPO at 3,112 rupees per share with a price cap of 3,276 rupees apiece. While bidding for anchor investors began on Wednesday, bidding for retail investors will commence from Friday, with the offer closing for both sets of investors on Jan. 31. Spokespersons for Adani Enterprises, LIC and SBI Life did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Adani has said it will use 108.69 billion rupees from the FPO to fund green hydrogen projects, airports facilities and greenfield expressways.

Hindenburg, known for having shorted electric truck maker Nikola Corp (NKLA.O) and Twitter, said it holds short positions in Adani companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. Shares in Adani Transmission (ADAI.NS) fell 9%, Adani Ports And Special Economic Zone (APSE.NS) slipped 6.3% and Adani Enterprises ended down 1.5%. Adani Group's total gross debt in the financial year ended March 31, 2022, rose 40% to 2.2 trillion rupees. Refinitiv data shows debt at Adani Group's seven key listed Adani companies exceeds equity, with debt at Adani Green Energy Ltd (ADNA.NS) exceeding equity by more than 2,000%. Hindenburg also said it was concerned that a high proportion of equity held by promoters or key shareholders in Adani Group listed companies has been pledged for loans.

☆ Cyber Startup Snyk Raises $25 Million From ServiceNow
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Belle Lin | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +4 min

Cybersecurity company Snyk Ltd. announced on Tuesday a $25 million investment from enterprise software maker ServiceNow Inc. The Boston-based startup also announced an integration with ServiceNow that aims to provide cybersecurity and information-technology executives a view of potential security vulnerabilities originating from open-source code. “Security is a team issue that requires developers, security and IT professionals to work together,” Mr. Bedi said. “Vendors are starting to talk with each other more often and being able to exchange data,” Mr. Horvath said. The eight-year-old startup cut 14% of its workforce last year and now has over 1,000 employees, according to Mr. McKay.

☆ Exclusive: Blackstone in talks with Bain to sell $480 million stake in top Indian REIT
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( M. Sriram | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

For Blackstone, it would mean a further selldown of its Embassy stake as it adjusts its portfolio. A spokesperson for Blackstone declined to comment while Bain Capital and Embassy did not respond to requests for comment. It owns and operates more than 43.2 million square feet of office parks and office buildings in cities such as Bengaluru and Mumbai and is also the largest office REIT in Asia by area. Blackstone currently owns 24% of the Embassy REIT, which has a market capitalisation of nearly $4 billion. That will be worth $400 million-$480 million based on Monday's closing price of the Embassy REIT on the stock exchange in Mumbai.

☆ Qatar doubles Credit Suisse stake as embattled lender forges ahead with strategic overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The Qatar Investment Authority is the second-largest shareholder in Credit Suisse after doubling its stake in the embattled Swiss lender late last year, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The QIA — Qatar's sovereign wealth fund — initially began investing in Credit Suisse around the time of the financial crisis. Combined with the 3.15% owned by Saudi-based family firm Olayan Financing Company, around a fifth of the company's stock is now owned by Middle Eastern investors, Eikon data indicates. Credit Suisse will report its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 9, and has already projected a 1.5 billion Swiss franc ($1.6 billion) loss for the fourth quarter as a result of the ongoing restructuring. The shake-up is designed to address persistent underperformance in the investment bank and a series of risk and compliance failures.

☆ Elon Musk says he dislikes how 'most alcohol' tastes and makes him feel, but is partial to 'red wine in a fine glass' or a Scotch on the rocks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk tweeted on Sunday night that he doesn't like 'most alcohol,' but is partial to a red wine. "But there is something quite beautiful about red wine in a fine glass." Soon after the game, Musk tweeted a poll about stepping down as the head of Twitter. In 2017, Musk tweeted: "A little red wine, vintage record, some Ambien... and magic!" And a couple months later, he described drinking wine from a mason jar at a friend's party.

The new shares bring the QIA's ownership in Credit Suisse to 6.87%, amounting to 272.25 million shares, from 5.57% as reported in its last SEC filing in November. Credit Suisse declined to comment when contacted by Reuters on Monday and the QIA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Credit Suisse's shares rose 2.2% on Monday to close at 3.15 Swiss francs. SNB, along with the QIA and Olayan Group, account for about 20% of Credit Suisse shares. Credit Suisse outlined plans in October to raise 4 billion Swiss francs from investors, cut thousands of jobs and shift its focus from investment banking towards its rich clients.

☆ Oman's drilling services firm Abraj plans March listing on Muscat exchange
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 22 (Reuters) - Oman's oil and gas drilling services firm Abraj Energy Services plans to list up to 49% of its shares on the Muscat stock exchange in March through an initial public offering (IPO), a company statement said on Sunday. The IPO forms part of an exit plan recently announced by sovereign wealth fund, the Oman Investment Authority (OIA), the state news agency said. State energy company OQ, the selling shareholder, is wholly-owned by the OIA, which expects to exit eight investments in 2023 to generate about $1.3 billion. A diversified oil and gas services firm, Abraj is the largest drilling contractor in Oman with a market share of almost 30 percent. States such as Qatar and Oman are now seeking to capitalise on investor appetite for Gulf IPOs and compete with more active regional exchanges.

☆ U.S. startup Outrider raises $73 mln to scale up autonomous yard trucks
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Nick Carey | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Jan 19 (Reuters) - U.S. self-driving truck firm Outrider said on Thursday it has raised $73 million in funding to scale up its autonomous trucks operating in distribution yards for customers in e-commerce, manufacturing and other industries. It also includes fresh funding from American venture capital fund New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and the venture capital arm of industrial conglomerate Koch Industries. Outrider says its self-driving yard truck "hitches to and unhitches from trailers, robotically connects and disconnects trailer brake lines, backs semi-trailers with precision, interacts safely with loading docks, and keeps track of trailer locations throughout the yard." The company says its customers represent more than 20% of all yard trucks operating in North America, and have invested in joint product testing and pilot operations since 2019. Yard trucks are designed to move trailers and cargo containers in distribution yards.

☆ Qatar's sovereign wealth fund — which invested $375 million in Elon Musk's Twitter buyout — says it hasn't told the new CEO to tweet less
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Qatar Investment Authority's CEO told Bloomberg TV it hasn't asked Elon Musk to tweet less. QIA's CEO said the fund trusts Musk's leadership to turn the company around. The sovereign wealth fund pumped $375 million into Musk's $44 billion Twitter acquisition. The Qatar Investment Fund is one of a group of high-profile investors who have provided funding for Musk's Twitter deal. The Qatar Investment Fund and Twitter did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

☆ Saudi Arabia weighs boosting Pakistan investment to $10 bln -report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

DUBAI, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia said it could increase its investments in the cash-strapped Pakistan economy to $10 billion, the Saudi state news agency reported on Tuesday, as well as increase the ceiling on deposits into the Pakistan central bank to $5 billion. He has also asked the Saudi Development Fund (SDF) to consider raising the ceiling for Saudi deposits into the Pakistan central bank as part of measures to support the struggling economy. Last month, the Saudis extended the terms of an existing $3 billion deposit in the central bank it made in 2021. read morePakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has sought to forge closer economic ties with Gulf states to secure bigger investments. Qatar's sovereign wealth fund the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) aims to invest $3 billion in Pakistan, and in October, Sharif was invited to address delegates at Saudi's flagship investment conference, the Future Investment Initiative.

☆ 6 top M&A bankers lay out their dealmaking playbook for 2023 — from getting around a sagging bond market to dealing with skeptical shareholders
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-09 | by ( Carter Johnson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

"We're certainly telling clients to plan for longer timelines between signing an announcement and when a transaction closes," RBC's Sperduto said. Bankers noted the figure was on pace with the average amount of deals done in the five years preceding the pandemic. "There is still significant desire from both corporates and financial sponsors to transact," Gary Posternack, co-head of global M&A at Barclays, told Insider. But in 2023, bankers see more transactions receiving greater scrutiny from stakeholders. Vito Sperduto, the co-head of global M&A at RBC Capital Markets.

☆ Walmart gets $1 bln tax bill for shifting PhonePe headquarters to India - report
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Jan 4 (Reuters) - Walmart Inc (WMT.N) and other PhonePe shareholders will have to pay nearly $1 billion in tax after the digital payments company shifted its headquarters to India, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter. PhonePe is raising funds at a $12 billion pre-money valuation from General Atlantic, Qatar Investment Authority and others, triggering the hefty charge, according to the report. Investors including Tiger Global Management have now purchased shares of PhonePe in India at the new price, leading to tax implications of roughly 80 billion Indian rupees ($966.13 million) for existing shareholders, Bloomberg News reported. PhonePe, Walmart and Tiger Global did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment. Walmart said last month it had completed the separation of PhonePe from Indian ecommerce giant Flipkart, adding that it would remain a majority stakeholder in both the companies.

☆ India's largest winemaker Sula Vineyards drops 5% in market debut
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-22 | by ( Nandan Mandayam | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

It was last trading down 4.2% at 341.8 rupees in a broader market (.NSEI) that was down 0.58%. "We like Sula, given (its) market leadership in India’s grape wine industry, especially in premium brands," said Motilal Oswal equity strategist Hemang Jani. It raised a total of 9.6 billion rupees in the IPO, including 2.88 billion rupees from anchor investors like Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Goldman Sachs. Sula, India's largest winemaker, has a portfolio of 56 labels from 13 of its own brands and 20 international ones. Its net revenue rose 8% year-over-year to 4.57 billion rupees in fiscal year 2022.

☆ Elon Musk was photographed with the CEO of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund hours before asking followers if he should quit as Twitter boss
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk was pictured with the CEO of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund during Sunday's World Cup final. The Qatar Investment Authority invested about $375 million in Musk's takeover of Twitter. Photographs show Musk sat close to Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority, and Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former president Donald Trump. The Qatar Investment Authority declined to comment. Dan Mullan/Getty ImagesAccording to Bloomberg, the Qatar Investment Authority manages funds worth around $450 billion.

☆ Elon Musk said Twitter is like a crashing plane with its 'engines on fire' in a discussion of the platform's financial issues
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said Twitter is like "a plane headed towards the ground" in a Twitter Space on Tuesday. He explained that he had cut costs because Twitter had a predicted negative cash flow of $3 billion next year. The company, Musk said, is set to make around $3 billion in revenue in 2023, with net cash outflows of around $6.5 billion. That debt has annual servicing costs of around $1.5 billion, Musk said. During the Twitter Space, Musk also spoke about his meetings with advertisers, explaining that they asked "hard questions" about their return on investment because of the declining macroeconomic situation.

☆ Elon had to choose between Twitter and Tesla. He's choosing Tesla.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-19 | by ( Hasan Chowdhury | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Elon Musk has been forced to make a tough choice: Tesla or Twitter. He's picking Tesla, which represents nearly half his $156 billion in estimated wealth, and the Twitter poll gave him a handy escape pod. That red ink wasn't as much of a problem when interest rates were low, and Tesla's shares were soaring. But as the Federal Reserve has aggressively hiked interest rates to curb inflation, using Tesla stock to pay off the debt on the Twitter buyout is a problem for Tesla. "Tesla is so much an Elon stock, it stands or falls because of him," Beauchamp said.

☆ We could get up to 17% return today on cashflow generating assets, says Kotak Investment Advisors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWe could get up to 17% return today on cashflow generating assets, says Kotak Investment AdvisorsSrini Sriniwasan of Kotak Investment Advisors discusses what's next after the company secured an anchor investment of $500 million from a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

☆ Thoma Bravo to buy Coupa Software for $6.15 billion amid tech slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Coupa Software said on Monday it will sell itself to private-equity major Thoma Bravo for $6.15 billion in cash, calling the deal the "optimal path forward" as broader economic uncertainty hammers technology stocks. "The transaction provides superior risk-adjusted value relative to the company's (Coupa's) standalone prospects," said Roger Siboni, an independent director at the software firm. Coupa Software, which went public in 2016, provides business-spend management software, which helps companies manage the purchase of goods and services. Qatalyst Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Coupa, while Goldman Sachs & Co, Piper Sandler, and Kirkland & Ellis were advisors to Thoma Bravo. Separately, Coupa reported a 17% rise in total revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 31 and a net loss of $84.1 million.

☆ Thoma Bravo to buy Coupa Software for $6.15 bln amid tech slump
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Dec 12 (Reuters) - Coupa Software Inc (COUP.O) said on Monday it will sell itself to private equity major Thoma Bravo for $6.15 billion in cash, calling the deal the "optimal path forward" as broader economic uncertainty hammers technology stocks. Over the last two years, Thoma Bravo has acquired Ping Identity, Sophos, Proofpoint and Sailpoint Technologies. Coupa Software, which went public in 2016, provides business-spend management software, which helps companies manage the purchase of goods and services. Qatalyst Partners and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer advised Coupa, while Goldman Sachs & Co, Piper Sandler, and Kirkland & Ellis were advisors to Thoma Bravo. Separately, Coupa reported a 17% rise in total revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 31 and a net loss of $84.1 million.

☆ Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to invest in India's Lenskart - ET
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BENGALURU, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) is in advanced talks with Indian eyewear retailer Lenskart to invest $350 million to $400 million at a valuation of $4.5 billion, the Economic Times newspaper reported on Monday, citing people aware of the matter. The investment, which could give ADIA an almost 10% stake in Lenskart, is likely to be in the form of a secondary sale of shares, with a small primary round comprising growth equity, the report added. Lenskart and ADIA did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Started in 2010, Lenskart has an operational manufacturing unit in India's Haryana state, while another fully-automated plant in Rajasthan state has yet to start functioning. Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'Souza and Dhanya Ann ThoppilOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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