India’s energy reality check
Meta’s AI play, Advent bets on animal meds, and Mizuho eyes Avendus.
🗓 Morning, folks!
Markets kicked off the week on a solid note, with Nifty and Sensex opening in the green.
This week’s going to be data-heavy. India and the US are both set to report inflation numbers, which could shape central bank moves ahead. Trade talks between the US and China also resume today in London, after a month-long freeze.
💡 Spotlight: India’s now racing to secure new sources of rare earth magnets after China tightened its grip on global supply.
Beijing has slapped new defence-related export controls on seven key rare earth elements, like samarium, terbium, and dysprosium, used in everything from EVs and wind turbines to fighter jets and missile systems. Chinese companies will now need special defence permits to ship these out. FYI, China refines nearly 90% of the world’s rare earth supplies.
That’s a big deal. India doesn’t yet have domestic alternatives, so it’s scrambling to diversify supply chains and avoid getting caught off guard.
Let’s hit it!
1 Big thing: Tata Steel fires up low-carbon plans 🔥
Tata Steel is set to begin construction of its new low-carbon Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) facility in the UK this July.
An electric arc furnace is a big oven that melts scrap metal using electricity instead of burning coal or gas.
The deets: the Port Talbot plant is slated to begin operations in 2027, producing 3.2 million tonnes of low-emission steel annually.
The EAF will run on recycled scrap metal and is expected to slash on-site carbon emissions by up to 90%. Over the next decade, it could cut more than 50 million tonnes of CO2.
The why: Tata Steel is chasing a 10–15% reduction in emission intensity by 2030, compared to FY24–25 levels, as part of its broader decarbonisation strategy.
The how: back home, the company is building a 0.75 MTPA scrap-based EAF in Ludhiana to tap India’s growing demand for green steel. It’s also exploring decarbonisation tech and has launched India’s first Carbon Bank to help customers turn CO2 into value-generating assets.
Zoom out: Tata Steel is also gearing up for the hydrogen economy. It recently developed hydrogen transportation pipes which are strong steel pipes that safely carry pure hydrogen gas at high pressure.
Built using API X65 ERW pipes, these specially welded pipelines are key to building future-ready, clean-energy infrastructure.
2. Advent bets on animal meds 💊
Advent International is investing $175 million for a significant minority stake in Dublin-based Felix Pharmaceuticals, a fast-growing player in generic animal medicines.
Advent International is a global private equity firm that invests in businesses across sectors, with deep expertise in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and financial services. Felix Pharmaceuticals manufactures generic (off-patent) medicines for companion animals, with one of the broadest portfolios in the industry.
The why: Felix needed a partner to help accelerate growth and expand globally in a nascent but promising market. With Advent’s capital, operational know-how, and pharma experience, Felix is well-positioned to build scale faster.
Zoom out: Advent has been doubling down on Indian healthcare and financial services.
In April 2024, it picked up a 12.1% stake in Apollo Healthco for ₹2,475 crore.
Last year, it invested $230 million in Svatantra Microfin alongside Multiples PE, and also exited Bharat Serums and Vaccines, selling it to Mankind Pharma for a whopping ₹13,630 crore.
While we are on acquisitions,
Japanese financial major Mizuho is set to acquire KKR-backed Avendus Capital in a deal valuing the Indian investment bank at $700 million.
The deets: Avendus operates across investment banking, credit, institutional equities, wealth, and asset management. Its 2022 acquisition of Spark gave it a bigger leg-up in capital markets.
This will be Mizuho’s largest investment in India.
The why: Mizuho is chasing growth in India’s booming investment banking and wealth management space. The acquisition offers cross-border synergy potential and strengthens its on-ground presence in a rapidly expanding market.
3. Meta takes a bet on Scale AI 💰
Meta is in advanced talks to pump over $10 billion into AI startup Scale AI. If the deal goes through, it would be Meta’s biggest external AI bet yet, and one of the largest private funding rounds ever in the sector.
The deets: Scale AI helps tech giants by providing the labelled data needed to train AI models, think of it as teaching material for machines. The company has been on a tear, pulling in ~$870 million in revenue last year, with projections to hit $2 billion in 2025.
Background: Scale and Meta have already worked together on Defense Llama, an AI model built on Meta’s Llama 3 architecture, designed for US national security needs.
The why: Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg is betting big on AI. Back in January, he earmarked a whopping $65 billion for AI investments this year, spanning infrastructure, talent, and partnerships like this one.
4. Lalithaa sparkles onto IPO street 💎
Jewellery player Lalithaa Jewellery Mart has filed to raise ₹1,700 crore via IPO to fund expansion.
Lalithaa sells gold, silverware, and diamond jewellery. The company has grown to a 56-store network across Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Puducherry as of December 2024.
The deets: the IPO will include a ₹1,200 crore fresh issue and a ₹500 crore offer-for-sale.
Out of these, ₹1,014.5 crore from the fresh issue will go toward opening new stores, with the rest for general corporate needs.
Financially, the company posted ₹12,594.6 crore in revenue and ₹262.3 crore profit in the nine months ended Dec 2024, showing it’s built scale and profitability ahead of listing.
Zoom out: Jewellery retail remains a red-hot segment, with companies eyeing IPOs to fund offline expansion. A trusted south India player, Lalithaa is looking to ride India’s gold love affair and consumer shift toward branded jewellery.
5. Stocks that kept us interested 🚀
1. L&T bags big power storage deal ⚡
L&T has won a ₹1,000–2,500 crore order from JSW Energy to build a pumped storage power project in Maharashtra.
The deets: L&T’s Heavy Civil Infrastructure arm will fully execute the Bhavali Pumped Storage Project (PSP) across Nashik and Thane districts. The project will have a 1,500 MW installed capacity, made up of several smaller generating units.
1,500 MW can generate enough electricity to power about 1.5 crore LED bulbs at the same time or supply electricity to roughly 10 lakh homes on a typical day.
The company will handle the full civil works building approach roads, upper and lower reservoirs, tunnels, and an underground powerhouse to store and generate power on demand.
Why it matters: pumped storage projects like Bhavali PSP act like giant rechargeable batteries for the power grid. As India adds more solar and wind energy, which depend on weather, PSPs help store excess energy and release it when needed, keeping the grid stable and reliable.
2. Afcons lands ₹700 crore Reliance deal 🗼
Afcons shares ended nearly 3% higher after bagging a construction project worth ₹700 crore from Reliance Industries.
The deets: Afcons Infrastructure will execute construction works for Reliance’s Vinyl Projects at Dahej, Gujarat. The Vinyl Projects at Dahej will make more of the material used to produce PVC plastic, which goes into everyday products like pipes, wires, packaging, and building materials.
Why it matters: Reliance is ramping up its Vinyl production capacity in Gujarat, where Dahej is emerging as a major petrochem and manufacturing hub. For Afcons, this deal reinforces its growing role as a trusted EPC partner for marquee clients like Reliance.
3. Kalpatartu Projects lands ₹3,789 crore orders 📈
Kalpataru Projects stock rose nearly 3% after bagging fresh contracts worth ₹3,789 crore across buildings and power segments.
The deets: the company has announced new order wins including its biggest-ever contract in the Buildings & Factories (B&F) segment.
The headline deal involves developing over 12 million sq ft of residential buildings along with supporting infrastructure, a major boost for KPIL’s growing EPC portfolio.
The company also secured fresh international orders in Power Transmission & Distribution (T&D) via its overseas subsidiaries, further reinforcing its global presence in the infrastructure space.
Zoom out: KPIL’s stock has seen a bumpy ride this year, while it fell sharply in Jan-Feb, it staged a solid comeback in May as it was up 17% and June (+7%).
6. Story in data: Coal India powers up again ⚒️
Coal India is going back to the mines, literally.
The state-run giant is reopening 32 defunct coal mines and prepping up to five new greenfield projects this year. It’s a clear signal that as India’s power needs grow faster than clean energy can keep up, coal is making a strategic comeback.
The deets: many of these mines were shut down due to inefficient manual mining. Now, they’re being revived via revenue-sharing deals with private players. This is part of the Coal Ministry’s broader policy push to boost domestic output and cut imports.
Why it matters: renewables may be rising, but coal still fuels 74% of India’s electricity. With energy consumption set to more than double by 2050 and clean tech falling short of targets, coal remains India’s reliable fallback.
Zoom out: Coal India supplies 75% of the nation’s coal and plans to scale up output 6–7% annually to hit 1.5 billion tonnes by 2030. The energy transition is underway, but for now, coal is still carrying the load.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
👓 IPO vision: Lenskart is gearing up for an IPO, with its board approving a name change as it shifts from private to public.
🛵 Rapido delivers: Rapido is entering India’s food delivery market, promising lower commission rates to woo restaurants away from Zomato and Swiggy.
🎬 Warner split: Warner Bros. Discovery will split into two separate public companies to sharpen focus and boost flexibility.
That’s a wrap! Don’t let the weekday blues get to you.
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