With Aditya Birla Capital infusion, Kumar Mangalam goes for an image makeover

By bringing in a big chunk of fresh equity, the promoter addresses investors’ concerns about his reluctance to commit his own funds. The question is, will it be enough?

Earlier this month, the promoters of Aditya Birla Capital—Kumar Mangalam Birla through two companies—invested nearly 42% of a Rs 3,000 crore proposed equity infusion through a preferential issue. 

For Birla, who is otherwise known for keeping a tight grip on the purse strings, this marks a significant shift in attitude. In 2019, the billionaire had resisted demands from institutional investors, the government and lenders to infuse more equity into Vodafone Idea when the Aditya Birla Group’s telecom arm was struggling to pay creditor and government dues. 

So, what compelled him to go for an equity infusion this time around?

Ever …

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Furquan Moharkan

Furquan leads the banking coverage at The Morning Context. A business journalist with eight years of experience and a best-selling author, in his earlier stints as a reporter with the Deccan Herald and a columnist at The Banker, he wrote on banking, financial markets and regulatory affairs. He has extensively covered India's debt market crisis, banking crisis and the fall of Yes Bank.

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furquan@mailtmc.com

Delhi

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Ujval Nanavati

Ujval leads our Business vertical at The Morning Context. In a corporate career spanning 14 years, he has worked across startups, consulting firms, multinational corporations and large Indian companies, including India Infoline, ICICI, KPMG, Tata Steel and Jubilant Pharma. Ujval has been a freelance writer and trainer for eight years, with bylines in Forbes India and The Economic Times.

Editor, Business

ujval@mailtmc.com

Pune