Socks to Monitor: Zomato, Coal India, Samvardhana Motherson, BHEL, Adani Green Energy

Investors may not see any relief from the ongoing tepid week at the markets as Wednesday could be no different. Weak global cues may guide investor sentiment, leading to a lower start for the equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty. At 7:00 am, the Gift Nifty futures were down 23 points at 22,410.50 compared to the Nifty futures' last close.

Zomato: Antfin Singapore Holdings Pte, a subsidiary of the China-based Ant Group, is reportedly planning to sell a maximum of 2 percent stake or 17.64 crore shares in the food delivery platform Zomato. The sale is expected to be worth Rs 2,800 crore, and it will be conducted through a block deal. According to a report by CNBC-Awaaz, the floor price for the block deal has been set at Rs 159.4 per share, which is a 4 percent discount on Zomato's current market price.

Ashoka Buildcon: CDPQ, a Canadian pension fund, is currently in exclusive talks to acquire five operational road projects from Ashoka Concessions Ltd, a subsidiary of the infrastructure firm Ashoka Buildcon. According to individuals familiar with the discussions, the potential equity and enterprise values for this deal are estimated to be around $325 million and $700 million, respectively. Earlier reports suggested that both CDPQ (Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec) and the private-equity firm Actis Llp were in the final stages of negotiations to acquire the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) toll road assets of Ashoka Concessions. However, Actis has now pulled out of the deal.

Samvardhana Motherson International: According to sources cited by CNBC-Awaaz on March 5, Sumitomo Wiring, a significant stakeholder in the automotive company Samvardhana Motherson, is planning to sell 30 crore shares (approximately 4.5 percent stake) through a block deal. As per the report, the base price for the block deal has been set at Rs 121-122 per share, which is 2.5-3.5 percent lower than the current market price.

IIFL Finance: IIFL Finance attempted to reassure investors on Tuesday by stating that there were no governance issues after the RBI's directive banning the NBFC from giving gold-backed loans. During a call with analysts on Tuesday, Nirmal Jain, managing director of the company, clarified the situation. "We want to state unequivocally that there are no issues related to governance or ethics. These are operational matters that we will tackle with utmost effort and sincerity. We are taking immediate and comprehensive measures to address all concerns raised by the RBI."

Bharat Heavy Electricals: On Tuesday, the state-owned company announced that it has secured an order from NTPC to establish a 1,600 MW thermal power project in Singrauli. The order is worth over Rs 9,500 crore, excluding GST, as per BHEL's regulatory filing. BHEL aims to complete Unit 1 in 50 months and Unit 2 in 54 months. On Monday, BSE asked for clarification regarding news of BHEL securing this order as the sole bidder. In response, the company clarified that it had submitted a price bid on December 21, 2023, and is the only bidder for the mentioned NTPC tender, which is a routine business activity.

Adani Green Energy: On Tuesday, the company announced that two of its fully-owned subsidiaries, Adani Green Energy Twenty Four A Ltd and Adani Green Energy Twenty Four B Ltd, have put into operation an additional 448.95 MW of solar power projects in Khavda, Gujarat. As per the company's stock exchange filing, a total of 1,000 MW of solar power projects have been operationalized at Khavda, following the company's disclosure to the stock exchanges on February 14, 2024. The company had previously reported on February 14 that the same two subsidiaries had operationalized a combined 551 MW of solar power projects at Khavda.

Coal India: The Coal Ministry has announced that the Gevra mine, managed by Coal India's subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh, has been granted environmental approval to increase its production capacity to 70 million tonnes annually. Currently, Gevra has an annual production capacity of 52.5 million tonnes, which makes it the largest mine in India. This expansion is aligned with India's goal of becoming self-sufficient in coal production and eliminating power generation imports by the fiscal year 2025-26 (FY26).

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp: Food delivery platform Swiggy announced a collaboration with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corp on Tuesday to provide pre-ordered meals to passengers at four key railway stations in India, thereby joining its competitor, Zomato, in offering this service. The service will initially be available at Bangalore, Bhubaneswar, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada stations, with plans to extend it to 59 additional stations nationwide in the forthcoming weeks.

Coforge: IT services company Coforge Ltd announced on Tuesday that it has formed a multi-year alliance with Carnival UK, the parent company of P&O Cruises and Cunard. The partnership will focus on improving the Quality Engineering (QE) and Testing capabilities of both cruise lines across all operational areas. Coforge will be responsible for analyzing and optimizing every critical system of the cruise lines, enabling a seamless transition through digital transformation.

J Kumar Infraprojects: The company shared in an exchange filing on Tuesday that it has successfully won several projects in partnership with its joint ventures. The total value of these projects is Rs 1,822.7 crore. One of their joint ventures, J Kumar - SMC, with SMC Infrastructures Private Ltd, received a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) worth Rs 493 crore from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. This project involves building a creek bridge that will connect Ghansoli and Airoli along the Palm Beach Road at Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai. J Kumar Infraprojects' share in this project amounts to Rs 345.09 crore, reflecting their 70 percent stake in the joint venture out of the total order value secured.