Bajaj Group market cap hits $100 bn; fourth family-owned biz to hit mark

Bajaj Group on Tuesday joined the list of family-promoted business houses that have hit a market cap of $100 billion — the fourth to do so.

The others include the Tatas, Reliance, and an entrant this year, the Adanis.

Bajaj Group reached the figure briefly on June 25 but shrank from that owing to the markets falling and the appreciation of the US dollar. However, on July 6 the market cap of eight of its listed companies hit Rs 7.5 trillion ($100.6 billion), based on the day’s exchange rate of Rs 74.55 to the dollar.

On June 25, it had hit Rs 7.46 trillion ($100.5 billion, based on that day’s exchange rate).

In the pecking order, Bajaj Group on July 6 replaced the Adanis from third spot.

Adani Group, which stormed into the $100 billion list this year with its market cap going up nearly fourfold within a year, is out of the list with its market cap falling below $100 billion on July 6.

However, on June 25 its market cap had hit Rs 8.01 trillion.

The Tatas continue to be on top of the list, followed by Reliance. The only other non-family promoted business group that continues to have a market cap of over $100 billion is HDFC Group.

Bajaj Group’s market cap hit the magic number primarily because of three listed entities —  two financial services companies, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, and two-wheeler major Bajaj Auto, which is the flagship company of the tent. The three constitute over 91.7 per cent of its market cap. Bajaj Finance played a key role in helping the group to hit the $100-billion list, thanks to its shares going up 2.16 per cent and closing at Rs 6,204 in the bourses today.

The company on Tuesday announced a monthly update that it had booked 4.6 million new loans in the first quarter, that its deposits had grown by Rs 22 billion in Q1, standing at Rs 280 billion as of June 30. And it acquired 1.9 million new customers in the first quarter.

The two financial services companies, overseen by Sanjiv Bajaj, account for over 75.57 per cent of the Group’s market cap. The contribution of Bajaj Auto, which is run by his elder brother Rajiv Bajaj, accounts for 16.1 per cent.

The other companies in the group include Bajaj Holdings (market cap of Rs 40,709 crore), Bajaj Electricals (market cap of Rs 12,046 crore), Maharashtra Scooters (market cap of Rs 4,379 crore), Mukand (market cap of Rs 2,032 crore), and Hercules Hoist (Rs 498 crore). Commenting on it joining the $100-billion market cap club, Deepak Jasani, head of retail research in HDFC Securities, said: “Its market cap has nearly doubled in a year. However, in this Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv have played a bigger part with both rising substantially over a year.”

Jasani also adds even Bajaj Auto, despite the impact on sales due to Covid-19, has been saved due to its large exposure in the export market.

Many family business houses have seen a huge jump in their market cap in the past one year. 

JSW Group saw nearly a three and a half times increase in market cap, going up from Rs 57,090 crore on June 25 last year to Rs 1.97 trillion on the same day this year. The others in the top 15 family-run business houses that saw a multifold increase in market cap include the Hindujas (over fourfold), Vedanta (doubled), and A V Birla Group (doubled).