Indicted 🎣
Small solar bid, Zomato's self-goal, and big money raises.
☀️ Morning, its the weekend.
📉 Sensex took a mild hit on Thursday—pricing state-election uncertainty and U.S. indictment of Adani.
The S&P however finished up half a percent, as the Trump-trade continues strong.
Let's hit it.
1 big thing: Bijnes, Adani style 📉
Gautam Adani has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice for helping drive a $250 million bribery scheme, allegedly defrauding American investors.
This is a knee-shot for a company that was gradually overcoming stock manipulation and fraud accusations made by Hindenburg.
The fresh juice:
U.S. prosecutors allege that between 2020 and 2024, Adani paid over $250 million in bribes to Indian government officials to secure solar energy contracts for his companies.
These contracts are projected to generate nearly $2 billion in profits over 20 years.
The indictment says Adani “personally” met with the government officials to advance the bribery scheme. American investors, from whom Adani raised capital, were lied to, manipulated, and kept in dark.
You can read the entire thing here.
Why care: as global investors get excited to put money at work in India, such headlines can sour the mood, denting momentum, and reversing progress made in winning trust and legitimacy as a serious market.
On the hook: several Adani family members, including Gautam’s nephew Sagar Adani, is named in the lawsuit. There’s an arrest warrant out for both.
The looming action: the arrest ain’t happening, we all know that, but to stay objective—if pursued, the case could potentially lead to a trial, restrictions on raising capital in the U.S., and even prison time. All catastrophic outcomes.
But, there’s hope: the prosecutors who brought the case are set to leave office once Trump assumes power, which opens the possibility for a dismissal, may be a light fine, a slap on the wrist.
Bottomline: Mr. Market wasn’t too thrilled—Adani stocks lost ₹2.45 lakh crore in combined market cap. One of his company’s $600 million bond sale that was scheduled for Thursday was also scrapped.
While we’re on the topic of trouble 🎯
Deepinder Goyal’s Chief of Staff auction continues to drive social media crazy. The post apparently ended up getting 18,000 applications.
For those tuned out: two days back Zomato offered a rather unconventional job—a Chief of Staff role that offers no-salary, and instead requires a ₹20 lakh donation to Zomato's non-profit, Feeding India.
Critics slammed the posting as elitist and insensitive. Goyal claims it was meant to attract a candidate who “gets the point.”
2. IPO Shines Bright ☀️
Another solar IPO is ready to hit the street—Saatvik Green Energy's filed docs to raise ₹1,150 crore from the markets this week.
The story: based in Haryana, Saatvik primarily manufactures and installs solar panels for small housing as well as large-scale projects. The company runs a 1.8 GW manufacturing capacity, and also runs an engineering services and installation business.
IPO deets:
The company will issue ₹850 crore worth of new stock, and sell ₹300 crore worth of stock from promoters, who own 90%+ of the company
Money raised will fund a new 4 GW solar module manufacturing plant in Odisha, and pay off of ₹256 crore debt
FYI, the business made ₹246 crores in revenues for the most recent quarter, up just 5% YoY. Profits came in at just over ₹21 crores.
Big picture: with nearly 92 GW of installed base capacity, India’s solar market is on a tear. Rising electricity prices and unreliable connections are driving strong adoption from retail as well as small-industry.
Bottomline: while Saatvik isn’t a major player in the solar industry, its smaller size allows it to tap into niche markets such as small-scale commercial deployments, which could appeal to some investors.
3. Who got the bag? 💰
Insurance: Entrackr reports that Zopper, which sells software to insurance companies, raised $25 million in a Series D led by Elevation Capital. The company’s software helps insurance firms manage insurance distribution workflows, such as account opening, marketing, etc.
Quick commerce: Blitz, a quick-commerce logistics platform, raised ₹51 crore in a Series A round led by IvyCap Ventures. Blitz operates a network of dark-stores, helping any brand offer same-day delivery, potentially in under 4 hours. Fresh $ will go towards expanding dark store network across India’s top 20 cities.
What else are we snackin’ 🍿
🤖 Robo rising: a warehouse automation company based in Noida, Addverb Technologies, is planning on launching India’s first humanoid robot in 2025. They’re backed by Mukesh Ambani.
🍎 Apple pushes deeper: Apple will work with over 40 local companies including Dixon Technologies, Wipro, and HCLTech to source key components for its devices locally, as importing from China into India gets challenging.
👏 Easy IPOs: SEBI will no longer need the mandatory 1% security deposit for companies going public, making the process of listing a little bit easier.
🚀 Space x ISRO: Musk’s Space X successfully launched ISRO's GSAT-N2 communication satellite aboard its Falcon 9 rocket, marking India's first collaboration with the global space tech leader.
That’s a wrap for today! We’ll be back Monday!
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