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Context is everything.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Detailed stories on technology startups, business and economic current affairs.
Just when it looked like the government and India’s third largest telco were going to end up losers, they have arrived at a compromise. Will it work?
Editor's note: It’s one blow after another for Kumar Mangalam Birla. Five years after the Aditya Birla Group chairman took the reins of what was then India’s largest telecoms company, he now appears close to losing the business. Vodafone Idea—Vi—announced yesterday that it will allot new shares to the government, making it the biggest stakeholder in the company with a 38.5% stake; Birla himself would be reduced to the smallest promoter, with 17.8%. Last August, he had stepped down as chairman of the company and relinquished his seat on the board as it increasingly looked like the company would go under. With his stake dropping below the 26% threshold, Birla will not be left with much of a say in the management of the company. This led to an adverse reaction from the stock market. Vi’s shares fell sharply following the company’s statement on the allotment of equity to the government. They ended the day losing a little over 20% of their value as the prognosis became increasingly uncertain. Social media termed the government picking up a stake in Vi as “nationalization”. …
While the Rs 9,000 crore promoter investment in Q1 brings a measure of reassurance, investors will still have to wait for Jio and retail to work through their challenges.
After a strong listing, Vedanta Aluminium Metal is running into some headwinds. Aluminium prices are easing, but the sharper challenge is rising competition from Kumar Mangalam Birla and Gautam Adani.
FY26 numbers show that Airtel is stealing a march on its larger rival on most counts and is unrelenting in its ambition, casting a cloud on Jio’s valuation.
