Kalpathi AGS Group-owned Veranda purchased Edureka

By

-

September 24, 2021

Veranda Learning Solutions, part of the Kalpathi AGS Group, has acquired Edureka, a live-instructor-led learning and training platform for the IT industry, for Rs 245 crore. The price paid as consideration has not been revealed.

In a statement, Veranda said it plans to spend roughly $100 million on acquisitions over the next six months to “take advantage of the opportunities emerging in the edtech area.”

“Veranda is in active discussion with multiple targets for acquisition to create a multi-modal platform that spans test prep, upskilling and supplemental education. With the current acquisition we are poised to expand our footprint in Europe and the North American markets as well,” Kalpathi Suresh, executive chairman, Veranda Learning Solutions, said.

Edureka is the company’s second buyout since its start in December 2020. Veranda has bought Chennai Race Coaching Institute, a banker’s, SSC, and PSC exam prep institution.

Edureka joins with top Indian institutes like IITs, NITs, and renowned international universities like Purdue to offer training in cloud computing, DevOps, AI/ML, data science, web development, cybersecurity and other emerging technologies in addition to its library of training resources.

It currently has over one lakh students enrolled who are instructed by a team of over 500 instructors who offer over 300 different courses.

Bharti Airtel collaborates with Tejas Networks

By

BRL Editor

-

September 23, 2021

0

On Thursday, Tejas Networks, a domestic telecom equipment manufacturer, announced that Bharti Airtel has chosen to expand the telecom operator’s optical network capacity in significant metropolitan markets. Tejas Networks’ stock jumped 5% to ₹415 per share on the BSE in early deals.

Tejas will supply, install, and support its optical transmission network (OTN) to expand Airtel’s optical network to the edge, supporting 5G backhaul, B2B services, and broadband applications.

“Airtel has been making significant investments in expanding its metro network capacity as part of its 5G readiness and for catering to increased bandwidth consumption by fixed-line and enterprise customers. We are delighted to partner with Tejas in this key network intervention that will enable us to deliver a world-class experience to our customers,” Bharti Airtel chief technology officer Randeep Sekhon said in the statement. In early trades, Bharti Airtel shares were trading with marginal gains.

“We are delighted to expand our decade-long partnership with Airtel, which has established itself as one of the premier telecom service providers in the world. Under this new contract, we will provide our multi-terabit TJ1600 DWDM/OTN products to augment Airtel’s metro network capacity right up the network edge,” Tejas Networks MD and CEO Sanjay Nayak said.

Tejas Networks is a high-performance networking company that designs, develops, and distributes solutions to telecommunications service providers, internet service providers, utilities, defence, and government institutions in more than 75 countries.

Novvy introduces buy-to-let in MWC Chennai

By

BRL Editor

-

September 22, 2021

0

UK-India PropTech startup Novvy.com, a global integrated real estate purchasing and investing platform, announced a strategic real estate investment product with India’s Mahindra World City in Chennai to offer “Buy-to-Let” assets for buyers in India and Indians overseas.

Novyy will fully manage a block of 100 apartments within the Mahindra World City complex on behalf of the buyers – similar apartments nearby presently fetch over 6% per year in rental yields.

Speaking on the launch of Mahindra World City’s “Buy-to-Let” segment, Founder and CEO of Novyy Technologies, Ashish Saraff, said, “We chose Mahindra World City as our first Buy-to-Let product in India for its price point and the natural rental market that the region offers. Over 65 corporates are employing over 80,000 people in the vicinity, and supply outpaces demand. In addition, rental yields in Indian metros are now capped at 3%, whereas rental returns in such regions are much higher”.

“Traditionally, we mostly don’t invest outside the city where we live. And investment properties have a binary rental outcome – 0 or 1. Novyy Buy-to-Let solves both these problems. Indians can now invest anywhere in India, never be on 0 rental earnings and remain stress-free. It’s just like investing in Mutual Funds without the volatility of stock markets – Invest, Sit Back and Relax.” he further added.

In Chengalpattu, Chennai, Mahindra World City is developed by Mahindra Lifespace Developers Ltd., the Mahindra Group’s real estate development wing worth $19.4 billion. The property is surrounded by vast green spaces, a tranquil view of the lake, and a refreshing breeze, making it ideal for families to live and relax.

Vimalendra Singh, Chief Sales Officer of Mahindra Lifespaces, said, “At Mahindra Lifespaces, we believe there is significant scope to reshape the value proposition in residential real estate in India. Novyy’s ‘Buy-To-Let’ proposition is strategically aligned to our ‘Mahindra Happinest’ offerings and could be beneficial for domestic and NRI investors alike.”

Zee confirms merger with Sony

By

BRL Editor

-

September 22, 2021

0

The ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEEL) Board of Directors unanimously approved the merger between Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and ZEEL. The Board of Directors considered financial factors and the strategic value that the partner brings to the table.

The Board concluded that the merger would benefit all shareholders and stakeholders. The merger is in accordance with ZEEL’s strategy to become a premier media and entertainment company in South Asia, with stronger growth and profitability.

“The Board of Directors of ZEEL at its meeting held on September 22, 2021, has approved the execution of a non-binding term sheet (“Termsheet”) with Sony Pictures Networks India Private Limited (“Sony India”), in relation to a potential transaction involving a composite scheme of arrangement for the merger of the Company and Sony India and infusion of growth capital by the promoters of Sony India into Sony India as part of the merger,” ZEE said.

The ZEEL Board of Directors has granted the company’s management approval to begin the mandatory due diligence procedure. Sony Pictures Entertainment, SPNI’s parent firm, will own the majority of the merged entity. It will also infuse USD 1.575 billion after closing; for use and to pursue other expansion opportunities.

The indicated merger ratio would have been 61.25% in favour of ZEEL based on the current projected equity values of ZEEL and SPNI. However, with the USD 1.575 billion infusions, the resulting merger ratio is estimated to be 47.07 % held by ZEEL shareholders and 52.93 % by SPNI shareholders.

ZEEL and SPNI have agreed to combine their linear networks, digital assets, production operations, and program libraries under a non-binding term sheet.

ZEEL and SPNI will conduct mutual diligence and reach a definitive agreement throughout the 90-day timeframe specified in the term sheet.

According to the company, Punit Goenka will serve as MD and CEO of the combined firm for the next five years. The merged entity will be a publicly listed Company in India.

Zip makes a $50 mn investment in India

By

BRL Editor

-

September 22, 2021

0

Zip Co Ltd, an Australian buy-now-pay-later company, announced on Wednesday that it has agreed to invest $50 million in a minority stake in Indian competitor ZestMoney as part of its global expansion aspirations.

The investment comes when the BNPL sector grows in popularity, with customers paying in installments without interest for online purchases, as the COVID-19 pandemic has encouraged young shoppers to seek more accessible credit.

Zip, Australia’s second-largest BNPL, is increasing its footprint in the rapidly developing sector, having acquired companies in Europe and the Middle East last year.

With its investment in Bengaluru, India-based fintech ZestMoney enters a market with an ample young demographic migrating toward cashless payments and has a lot of room for growth in the BNPL and e-commerce space.

“With deep partnerships with online and offline merchants and lending partners, ZestMoney is poised to accelerate growth as the market develops,” Zip Chief Executive Officer Larry Diamond said.

Zip said it had reached an agreement with ZestMoney to gradually grow its stake in the company.

Established players in the BNPL field have been experimenting with novel business areas to support expansion, with Australian BNPL behemoth Afterpay receiving a $29 billion deal from Square Inc and PayPal acquiring a Japanese company for $2.7 billion.

HCL and MKS Instruments agreed to partner for Digital, Cloud Services

By

BRL Editor

-

September 21, 2021

0

HCL Technologies has signed a five-year digital transformation agreement with US-based MKS Instruments to increase performance, efficiency, and speed to market. HCL said in a regulatory filing to the stock exchanges that it will assist MKS Instruments’ digital and cloud-enabled transformation through AI/ML-led automation, increased user experience with end-to-end Infrastructure services, digital workplace services, and IT transformation.

“We are excited to partner with MKS to deliver a technology-driven approach to fulfill its business goals and digital transformation roadmap,” Ajay Bahl, Executive Vice President, HCL Technologies, said.

MKS Instruments comes up with Instruments, systems, subsystems, and solutions for sophisticated manufacturing processes.

Employees at MKS Instruments in nearly 60 countries will benefit from HCL’s huge network of global delivery centres and a broad range of technological solutions, including cutting-edge AI and automation frameworks and tools.

HCL Technologies signed a strategic relationship with Hancom Inc last week, on September 15, to exchange sophisticated software technology solutions and expand into the South Korean and Taiwanese markets.

In a flat market, HCL Tech shares were trading higher by 1% at Rs 1288 at 10:50 a.m. So far, the stock has traded at a low of Rs 1,276 and a high of Rs 1,315 intraday.

HDFC and Paytm now paired up to offer credit cards

By

BRL Editor

-

September 21, 2021

0

HDFC bank joins Paytm, the leading financial services application, to issue a range of credit cards on the Visa platform to its customers.

The credit cards will be available soon, just in time for the festive season, which begins in October with Durga Puja. These new cards will be personalized to meet the specific needs of retail customers, from new users to opulent users. The new cards introduce the best rewards and cashback for users, the statement said.

This partnership between HDFC and Paytm is one of the lender’s strategies for reclaiming lost market share in the credit card sector that it has lost due to the ban imposed on it by the regulator for eight months, following several outages in its digital offerings.

Also Read | Paytm and HDFC Bank have partnered to launch co-branded products for digital payments

“At Paytm, we aim to democratize the access to credit to drive financial inclusion amongst our 330mn+ consumers and 21mn+ merchant partners. With our technological capabilities, Paytm’s merchant partners and India’s new-to-credit millennials will now be able to build a healthy credit profile and gain access to opportunities available in the formal economy. We are delighted to partner with HDFC Bank, and Visa, to launch a comprehensive suite of credit cards across customer segments, with special focus on millennials, business owners and merchants. Our Business Credit Cards have been designed basis our deep understanding of our merchant partners and we believe that the offerings will truly benefit their businesses,” Bhavesh Gupta, CEO, Paytm Lending, said.

By the end of the year, the partners hope to have the whole range of products available. Users can apply using a digital and paperless approach and then complete the onboarding process entirely using the Paytm app.

Delhivery begins innovation lab to assist logistics startups

By

BRL Editor

-

September 21, 2021

0

Delhivery, a Delhi-based logistics and supply chain service, has collaborated with Startup Réseau, a Mumbai-based startup accelerator, to start the Delhivery innovation lab.

The lab will exploit the startup community in India to launch logistics and supply-chain related solutions. The innovation lab will facilitate technology partnerships, proof-of-concept development with startups, and other strategic alliances.

“We work with multiple partners, to leverage their products and prototypes to improve our systems. This accelerator programme will make this process structured and open to a large community of tech entrepreneurs,” Kapil Bharati, co-founder and chief technology officer, Delhivery, said.

“Through this initiative, we are looking to collaborate with enterprising startups working on developing Machine Learning, Machine Vision, AI, and IoT solutions for pre-defined business cases” Bharati added.

“We have identified key business areas in which we are looking for solutions that are pilot-ready. We aim to discover interesting tech solutions for the logistics and supply chain industry,” Ajay Ramasubramaniam, founder and CEO, Startup Réseau, said.

Delhivery has started inviting applications for its inaugural cohort, which will go live in November 2021. Earlier this month, Delhivery had raised over $75 million in funding from Lee Fixel’s venture capital firm Addition. It is expected that Delhivery will make its public market debut before March 2022.

Fortune to open five new hotels with 375 rooms in India by December 2022

By

BRL Editor

-

September 20, 2021

0

Fortune Hotels, a member of ITC’s hotel group, will likely be opening five new hotels with 375 rooms in India by the end of next year as a part of its healthy expansion plans in the country.

The firm has 38 working hotels with around 2900 rooms across 34 cities in the country.

“Apart from opening five hotels with over 375 rooms across four cities of India from our active pipeline by the end of December 2022, we are also in advanced negotiations for a few more projects, some of which are anticipated to open before the end of next year,” Fortune Park Hotels MD Samir MC told PTI.

These five new hotels will be — Fortune Resort Benaulim Goa, Fortune Park in Hoshiarpur (Punjab), Fortune Park in Tirupur (Tamil Nadu), Fortune Select in Goa and a Fortune Inn in Haldwani (Uttarakhand), he mentioned.

When questioned about the corporate model the company follows, Samir said, “While our primary model is currently on managed hotels, we continue evaluating different operating models including franchise model.”

He said about the corporation’s subsections; Fortune Park Hotels was set up in 1995 to cater to the mid-market to an upscale market segment in industry and leisure landing-place.

It has clearly explained sub-brands — Fortune Select, Fortune Park, Fortune Inn and Fortune Resort — below which the chain operates the resorts.

“Our portfolio mix comprises 30 percent hotels in the leisure space, and the rest are business hotels or mixed-use. With domestic tourism opening up and the world looking to find unique ways to holiday, our focus on leisure has grown. Most of our future expansion is set around pilgrim and tourist locations, and we see a big opportunity in this space,” Samir added.

When asked about the company’s expansion within the nation, “We have great confidence in the India growth story and know that the opportunity lies in tier II and III markets of India. We are currently exploring many new alliances with hotel investors in these markets and are hopeful to close more such alliances in the near future,” he further added.

With the signing of these five new agreements in the hospitality sector, Fortune Hotels has added 300 new rooms across four Indian cities, taking forward their actual inventory to around 3700 rooms across 42 cities.

It is also to be noted that ITC stock price has moved significantly higher, hitting a 52-week high on Thursday.

More tech centres are needed in India, and they must be built quickly, MSME Minister

By

BRL Editor

-

September 18, 2021

0

Narayan Rane, the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, stated on Friday that the country, with a population of 135 million people, needs additional technology centres, which must be built quickly.

While virtually inaugurating a Technology Centre in Rohtak, Haryana, he mentioned this. He said that the new technology created in these centres should be spread to a wider audience to create a nation of entrepreneurs.

“The technology developed in these MSME centres will give a good impetus to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative during the tough times of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.

The ministry said in a separate statement that the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) launched the SPIN (Strengthening the Potential of India) programme and established a pottery cluster under the SFURTI Scheme in Varanasi to empower over 1,100 marginalised potters.

Under SPIN, KVIC will make it easier for potters to obtain low-interest bank loans, allowing them to diversify their businesses and increase their revenue.

CONNECT WITH US