Stocks to Focus: TCS, L&T Finance, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Tata Steel, Shriram Finance

Equity benchmark indices, Sensex and Nifty, may start lower on March 19 as Asian markets are trading muted. This is ahead of central bank decisions from Japan and Australia today. At 7:30 am, the Gift Nifty futures were down by 76 points at 22,059 over the Nifty futures’ last close.

Tata Consultancy Services: Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group, is planning to raise more than one billion dollars by selling a part of its stake in Tata Consultancy Services. The move comes as the conglomerate looks to expand into emerging areas such as semiconductors, e-commerce, and phone assembly. Tata Sons is set to sell up to 23.4 million shares, equivalent to a 0.65 percent stake in TCS, in a block deal. According to a term sheet accessed by Mint, the aim is to raise Rs 9,362.3 crore ($1.12 billion). Currently, Tata Sons holds around 72.4 percent stake in TCS, which is India's second most valuable firm. The shares will be available at a base price of Rs 4,001 each, which is 3.65 percent lower than TCS's closing price of Rs 4,152.50 on Monday on the National Stock Exchange (NSE). After the transaction, Tata Sons' shareholding in TCS is expected to decrease to approximately 71.7 percent.

L&T Finance Holdings: At a meeting held on March 18, 2024, the Board of Directors of L&T Finance Holdings Ltd approved a fund-raising plan to raise up to Rs 1.01 lakh crore through the issuance of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) in one or more installments. The plan includes the issuance of various types of NCDs such as subordinated-debt, masala bonds, and perpetual debt. The company stated in an exchange filing that the total amount of NCDs issued and outstanding at any given time will not exceed an aggregate amount of Rs 1,01,000 crores.

Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC: Aditya Birla Capital and Sun Life (India) AMC Investments have approved the sale of up to 2.01 crore shares of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC on March 18. This represents 7 percent of the company's fully paid-up equity share capital and will be done through an offer for sale (OFS) in order to meet the minimum public shareholding requirement of Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC. The sale will begin on March 19 for non-retail investors and March 20 for retail investors. Additionally, there is a provision to sell up to 1.28 crore shares or a 4.47 percent stake, which represents 11.47 percent of the total equity share capital or 3.3 crore shares of the company, in case of oversubscription. The base price for the offer is set at Rs 450 per share.

Tata Steel: Tata Steel, on March 18th, informed the stock exchanges that its UK division would be stopping the operations of the coke ovens at the Port Talbot facility in Wales due to a decline in operational stability. The company had previously announced that a number of its heavy-end assets in Port Talbot had reached their end-of-life capability. Tata Steel UK intends to counterbalance this move by increasing imports of coke, according to the company's statement.

Shriram Finance: Shriram Finance, India's second-largest non-bank lender, recently secured $300 million through an innovative deal that utilizes asset-backed securities (ABS). The transaction involved securitizing a portion of Shriram Finance's loan portfolio and then offering it to international investors across Asia. Thanks to strong investor demand, the lender was able to offer a lower interest rate than initially projected. The deal had a maturity of 6.5 years and was priced at 5.85 percent, which was lower than the initial pricing guidance of 6.15 percent.

Procter & Gamble India: The packaged consumer goods manufacturer announced on Monday that Kumar Venkatasubramanian will be the new CEO of the company, beginning from May 1, 2024. Venkatasubramanian will replace LV Vaidyanathan, who has decided to leave P&G after serving for 28 years to pursue other opportunities. Vaidyanathan has been the CEO of P&G India since July 1, 2022. Venkatasubramanian, who is 48 years old and an IIM Calcutta graduate, has been with P&G since 2000, starting his career in the company's sales team in India. He has over two decades of experience, mostly in India across various sales roles. Currently, he is in charge of P&G's operations in Australia and New Zealand. Previously, he led the sales team in P&G India until 2020.

Poonawalla Fincorp: A non-banking financial company based in Pune has announced the appointment of Arvind Kapil as its CEO. Kapil is a senior executive from HDFC Bank and currently serves as the group head of the mortgage banking business there. His responsibilities include overseeing home loans, loans against property (LAP), and the sales business of the former Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC) which merged with the bank last year. In a press release, the company expressed its pleasure in welcoming Arvind Kapil as their MD and CEO. The company aims to explore new business verticals and achieve the next level of growth under his leadership. Currently, Kapil manages a portfolio worth over Rs 7 lakh crore at HDFC Bank.

Veritas (India), Genesys International Corporation: Veritas (India) Ltd and Genesys International Corporation Ltd have been granted a Letter of Acceptance from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for their bid of approximately Rs 156 crore. The project involves developing, implementing, and maintaining a 3D city model and change detection using geospatial technology for the Mumbai municipal body. The aim is to provide municipal departments, government agencies, and citizens with accurate information that will help them make informed decisions that contribute to the development of the city.

Religare Enterprises: The Burman family, who own over 25 percent of Religare Enterprises Ltd, have raised concerns about the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, the former Delhi Police commissioner, as a director on the company's board. They argue that this appointment violates listing rules. The Burmans are currently in a struggle for control of Religare, and they have informed the market regulator that the company made an error by not obtaining approval from shareholders for Asthana's appointment as a full-time executive director within the required three-month period. They state that approval should have been sought at the first general meeting of shareholders after the appointment or within three months from the date of appointment, whichever comes first.

Procter & Gamble Health: The subsidiary of the global consumer goods giant, Procter & Gamble, is planning to expand its range of vitamins, minerals, and supplements (VMS), especially focusing on neurotrophic vitamins. This is part of the company's five-year plan, according to Milind Thatte, the Managing Director. The company currently has a portfolio predominantly consisting of VMS products, which make up 90 percent of it, while Nasivision, a nasal decongestant, makes up the rest. Thatte revealed that the company has already introduced four distinct products in the past three to four years, and they plan to continue launching more products in the market, both as upgrades to existing formulations and as new additions. These expansion plans are in line with the company's five-year vision for its portfolio.