| | | Question of the Week Gautam Singhania’s estranged wife Nawaz Modi has raised eyebrows with her demand for 75% of his estimated net worth of $1.4 billion as part of their divorce terms. But which couple holds the record for the biggest divorce settlement ever? | | |  | | Good Morning | | The News in Summary India’s top court reserved its judgment on the Adani case, but investors, taking their cues from the observations it made, sent shares of the group’s companies soaring. Meanwhile, with Gautam Singhania’s marital woes sending shares of Raymond plummeting, proxy advisors asked the company’s independent directors to intervene in protecting the interests of shareholders. Elsewhere, with Go First facing liquidation, its lenders are looking at an unusual option of seeking litigation finance while Aster DM Healthcare is selling off its Gulf business to its Indian promoters and UAE's Fajr capital in an effort to focus on its more profitable India business. Finally, with the JSW group picking up a 35% stake in a new JV with SAIC Motor for MG Motor India, Sajjan Jindal’s dream of entering the automobile business is being realized. | | |  | | | | SC Observations Trigger Bull Run in Adani Stocks  With the Supreme Court refusing to accept the Hindenburg report as evidence and maintaining that an investigation cannot be initiated solely on the basis of media reports, and also denying a request for a probe into the country's major financial institutions, the cloud hanging over the Adani group seems to have lifted. The apex court's three-judge panel, led by chief justice D. Chandrachud, made these remarks while concluding hearings on several petitions demanding an inquiry into the allegations raised by US short seller Hindenburg in January this year. While the SC has reserved its judgment in the matter, market analysts feel that the top court put paid to questions around Sebi’s credibility to probe the Hindenburg fallout. Its observations led to a surge in the share prices of several Adani companies led by flagship Adani Enterprises with the group’s market cap posting its biggest increase since the Hindenburg report surfaced. There was heavy investor interest in Adani Power, Adani Green, Adani Energy Solutions, Adani Total Gas and Adani Ports, too, all of which rose between 5% and 19%. | | | | Gautam Singhania’s Marital Woes Hurt Raymond Stock The messy separation of Gautam Singhania and his estranged wife Nawaz Modi . is taking a toll on the business with shares of flagship Raymond falling 12% in 7 straight sessions, leading to a Rs 1,500 crore erosion of its market cap. To make matters worse, proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services India Ltd (IiAS) has said that the company’s independent directors should ask the promoters, who hold 49.11% of the equity, to step aside in view of the serious accusations against chairman and managing director Gautam Singhania by his wife, who is also a director on the board. She is reported to have sought 75% of Singhania’s $1.4 billion fortune for herself and her daughters, as part of a settlement. Taking cognizance of the fears, the company’s independent directors have appointed Berjis Desai, a senior independent legal counsel with no links to the promoters or the company, to advise on the developments. Meanwhile, Singhania, who also took the stick from his father and group founder Vijaypat Singhania, has assured his employees and board members of the "smooth functioning" of the company. | | | | | | | | Desperate Go First Lenders Chase Rs 12,000 crore of Litigation Finance  With the threat of liquidation looming large over the bankrupt airline, lenders to Go First are looking for litigation finance to raise up to Rs 12,000 crore tied up in various lawsuits . That includes the arbitration award the grounded airline won against engine maker Pratt & Whitney at the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) earlier this year. After Go First moved a Delaware court to enforce the arbitration ruling, it ran short of funds to pursue the case ever since it stopped flying in May. The idea of litigation finance, suggested by Go First’s resolution professional, is also a clear sign that chances of a turnaround are closing for the airline which owes at least Rs 11,463 crore collectively to banks, international lessors and vendors. Last week, the airline bought itself some more time with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granting a 90-day extension for its resolution process. That ends on 4 February 2024, when the process to liquidate its assets will begin. Clearly, Go First needs any plans, including that of seeking litigation financing, to be accelerated. | | | | Aster to Sell Low Margin Gulf Business  In an effort to unlock value for shareholders of its listed entity in India, Aster DM Healthcare Ltd, which runs multispeciality hospitals, is selling its Gulf business to its Indian promoters (Moopen family) and a Dubai-based consortium for $1.001 billion., The separation plan envisages that a consortium led by United Arab Emirates (UAE) government-backed Fajr Capital will acquire a 65% stake in the ownership of the GCC business while the Moopen family will continue to manage and operate it, retaining a 35% stake. The Gulf business generates 70% of Aster’s revenues, but has been a drag on the India business because of lower margins. Proceeds from the deal will help erase the Gulf company’s debt. While Fajr Capital will put up the bulk of the money for the deal, the Moopen family will fund its share through dividends secured from Aster DM Healthcare Ltd, whose share price has gone up over 40% in the last six months despite posting a loss of Rs 30.79 cr for Q2 FY24. | | | | JSW Seals Deal For Stake in MG Motor  Steel tycoon Sajjan Jindal just got closer to his dream of launching passenger cars in the country after his JSW Group cemented an agreement with SAIC Motor Corp. Ltd (which owns MG Motor India) wherein it will own 35% in a newly created joint venture (JV) focusing on electric vehicles (EVs). The eventual plan, which has been in the works for over six months , is for JSW to turn majority shareholder in the venture in the next two years. Read in conjunction with the group’s ongoing discussions to buy the Chennai plant of US carmaker Ford, which ceased production in the country in 2021, it marks a serious push by the steel-to-energy conglomerate into India’s EV market, valued at $2 billion in 2023, and slated to treble to $7.09 billion by 2025. For MG Motor, which entered the Indian market in 2017 following its acquisition of General Motors’ Halol plant, and began its sales and manufacturing operations in 2019 with the launch of the Hector, the deal will help in expanding its operations in the country which have been stymied due to curbs on investments from China. | | |  | | | | Before it passed into Chinese hands in 2007, The MG Car Company was a much-loved British auto brand. Here’s a fascinating documentary on the company’s history | | | | Last Word The sleeping giant may be waking up Life Insurance Corp. of India (LIC), the country’s largest domestic institutional investor which manages $569.3 billion of assets, has been increasingly vocal in its criticism of founders of public companies naming their scions as senior executives or board members . Between January 2022, months before the insurance giant went public, and 30 September 2023, LIC posted its unhappiness over 12 proposals pertaining to the appointment or reappointment of the next generation of founders in promoter-led firms including high-profile ones like Adani Green, Sun Pharma and Piramal Enterprises. The caveat of course is that in all but one of these cases, it did not reject the resolution, saving the promoters from embarrassment. But for an institution that has been notoriously quiescent in the past, even this is a major step forward. | | | | Answer to the Question The unwanted distinction of the biggest such settlement belongs to Jeff and MacKenzie Bezos, whose divorce, at roughly $160 billion, set a financial record that will be difficult to top. | | | Do you have any questions? Send in your queries to sundeepkkhanna@gmail.com Were you forwarded this email? Did you stumble upon it online? Sign up here. | | Written by Sundeep Khanna. Edited by James Mathew. Produced by Shad Hasnain. Send in your feedback to newsletters@livemint.com. | | | | | Download the Mint app and read premium stories | | | | | | View in Browser | Privacy Policy | Contact us You received this email because you signed up for Mint Top of the Morning or because it is included in your subscription. Copyright © HT Digital Streams. All Rights Reserved | | | | |
