Top headlines: PayU to acquire Billdesk; JLR warns of lower Q2 volumes

Business Standard brings you the top headlines of the day.

Nasper-backed PayU in talks to acquire BillDesk for up to $4 billion

Nasper-backed fintech firm PayU has started talks to acquire domestic payment gateway major BillDesk, and the deal size could be in the range of $3-4 billion, sources in the know said.

“BillDesk has been open to being acquired for some time now, but in the past the valuations that the company was seeking proved to be a hurdle,” said a source. “Three years ago too, PayU had approached BillDesk for an acquisition, but things didn’t go ahead due to high valuations. BillDesk had asked for $2-billion value then,” said the source. Read more.

JLR warns of lower Q2 volumes, downgrades outlook due to chip shortage

Tata Motors has halved the volume outlook for its UK subsidiary Jaguar Land Rover Automotive (JLR) and warned of lower earnings as it sees the semiconductor shortage deepening in the September quarter of the current financial year, according to a notification issued by the company to the stock exchanges on Tuesday.

The announcement caught investors unawares. They were hoping for a quicker recovery. Read more.

Centre moves SC seeking transfer of pleas challenging validity of IT rules

The Centre on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court (SC) seeking transfer of pleas pending in different high courts across the country challenging the validity of new IT Rules to the apex court for an authoritative pronouncement on the issue.

A senior law officer confirmed the development. Read more.

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. Read more.

Reliance Industries lags peers in rewarding investors with cash pay-outs

Reliance Industries’ (RIL’s) share price has outperformed the broader market over the previous decade despite its recent underperformance and the decline in its financial ratio. The company has, however, lagged behind many of its peers in rewarding shareholders with generous cash pay-outs by way of equity dividend or share buybacks.

RIL’s share price has been flat in the past 12 months, but it has risen 364 per cent since the beginning of 2011, against a 186 per cent rally in the Sensex. Read more.