Stocks on Focus: Airtel, Aditya Birla Capital, ITC, Indigo, Religare, SpiceJet

Investors are anticipating the release of the key CPI data after market hours, as equity benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty are expected to begin the day with slight gains on Tuesday. The Gift Nifty futures were up 28 points at 22,449 at 7:30 am, compared to the last close of Nifty futures.

Bharti Airtel: The telecommunications major is expected to be the leader in the upcoming auction of eight spectrum bands as Reliance Jio has already made significant acquisitions in the 2022 auctions, and Vodafone Idea is facing financial constraints. The auction is set to begin on May 20. Bharti Airtel is likely to renew its licenses for 42MHz spectrum in the 900MHz and 1800MHz bands across six circles. Analysts predict that the telecommunications company will spend approximately Rs 3,800 crores at government-notified reserve prices.

Aditya Birla Capital: Aditya Birla Capital has announced that it will merge with its subsidiary, Aditya Birla Finance. This decision will allow the subsidiary to bypass the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) requirement for public listing. While Aditya Birla Capital is a listed entity, Aditya Birla Finance is among the 15 top-tier non-bank lenders that the RBI has mandated to be publicly listed by September 2025. The merger with the parent company eliminates the need for a separate listing of the subsidiary.

ITC: According to two sources familiar with the matter, British American Tobacco is preparing to sell its stake in ITC in the next two weeks. The company plans to sell 4 percent of its stake in the Indian firm at a share price of Rs 380-390, which is 5-8 percent lower than Monday's closing price of Rs 409. The sale is expected to involve around 499 million shares valued at approximately Rs 20,000 crore (just over $2.4 billion), making it the largest block deal since 2021. ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund and O3 Securities are among the potential buyers of ITC shares, according to the sources.

InterGlobe Aviation: Rakesh Gangwal, Co-Founder of IndiGo, sold a larger-than-expected 5.8 percent stake in InterGlobe Aviation, the airline's parent company, via a block deal on the BSE on Monday. This transaction is part of a series of divestments by Gangwal and his family, indicating a steady decrease in their ownership of the company. Gangwal sold 22.5 million shares of InterGlobe Aviation for a total of Rs 6,785.7 crore at an average price of Rs 3,015.88 per share on Monday. As a result of this sale, Gangwal's ownership in the company has dropped to 6 percent, reducing the promoter group's stake in InterGlobe Aviation to 57.3 percent.

Religare Enterprises: The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank's private finance division, has divested its remaining stake in Religare Enterprises, marking the end of its 12-year association with the Delhi-based financial services firm. This development comes amidst an ongoing power struggle between Religare's management and the Burman family for control of the company. According to a disclosure made by Religare, the IFC sold its 2.42 percent stake in the company between January 29 and February 2. While the identity of the buyer of the shares remains unconfirmed, the timing of the IFC's stake sale aligns with a disclosure made by the Burmans on January 31. The Burmans announced that they had acquired a 4 percent stake in Religare, bringing their total ownership in the company to 25.18 percent.

SpiceJet: Two top executives of SpiceJet, namely Chief Commercial Officer Shilpa Bhatia and Chief Operating Officer Arun Kashyap, have resigned amid the airline's revival efforts. Their last day with the company will be on March 31. Rumours suggest that Bhatia and Kashyap may start their own charter airline business. On another note, SpiceJet has recently complied with a Delhi High Court order to return a leased engine to Engine Lease Finance BV, located in Brussels, Belgium. The engine was returned by March 5, a few days before the court's deadline of March 10, after unsuccessful settlement discussions between the airline and the lessor.

Indian Oil Corporation: The company is set to issue a revised tender by the end of March for its inaugural green hydrogen plant in Panipat, according to people in the know. A senior IOCL official explained that the re-tendering process will involve different clauses. The previous tender was cancelled due to the Right of First Refusal (ROFR) clause. The official added that the tenders would be re-issued following the next hearing scheduled for March 28. IOCL had to recently cancel its tender after several renewable energy companies filed a lawsuit alleging that IOC had manipulated the tender norms to favor a joint venture that included itself.

HIL: On Monday, the CK Birla Group company announced that they have signed an agreement with Crestia Polytech to acquire Topline, a well-known brand of pipes and fittings. The deal is worth Rs 265 crore. In addition to acquiring Topline, HIL will also take over four fully-owned subsidiaries of Crestia - Topline Industries, Aditya Polytechnic, Aditya Industries, and Sainath Polymers. These subsidiaries are prominent players in the pipes, fittings, and water tank sectors in Eastern India, with well-known brands such as Topline, Rockwell, and Soniplast.

Mahindra & Mahindra: An official from Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) confirmed on Monday that the company will continue to focus on the utility vehicles segment, including the emerging electric vehicle (EV) sector within passenger vehicles. Based on sales trends from April to February, the company is on track to surpass 8 lakh units in the current fiscal year, an increase from 6.9 lakh units in FY23. The company also announced plans to launch three pure electric utility vehicles, although no specific timeline was provided.

Pitti Engineering: Pitti Engineering has recently announced that it will acquire 100 percent equity share capital of Bagadia Chaitra Industries Pvt. Ltd. (BCIPL) and other shareholders at an enterprise valuation of Rs 124.92 crore. The final acquisition cost will be determined by adjusting the enterprise value for net debt and changes in working capital on the closing date, along with other mutually agreed adjustments. Additionally, PEL plans to invest up to Rs 40 crore of new capital into BCIPL to clear its existing debt.