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2023 has been a busy news year for the Indian corporate world. The year was coloured with big reports, news of mergers and demergers, and the emergence of new sectors that caught everyone's eyeballs.
Here, we look at the 10 most significant events that shaped the Indian corporate news.
Hindenburg report on Adani Group: A Rs 6 trillion shock
At the start of 2023, Gautam Adani was making headlines for a giant leap in his net worth. In January, he was on the path to becoming the second richest man in the world. But in the same month, a report by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research alleged that the group was involved in misappropriation of funds and manipulation of stock prices.
In the months that followed, Adani Group stocks saw a major sell-off in the Indian market. The highest authorities in India, including the Supreme Court and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), came forward and probed the financials of the group.
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Adani Group stocks took a hit, with some touching the lower circuit for several days.
As of December, the group seems to have recovered a lot of its market capitalisation but estimates show its value is still Rs 6 trillion short of what it was in December 2022 (Rs 19.6 trillion). The findings of Sebi's investigation and the case in the Supreme Court may continue to keep one of the largest conglomerates in India on its toes in 2024.
HDFC-HDFC Bank merger: Forming of a banking behemoth
HDFC Bank is the largest bank in India by market cap. Its former parent company, HDFC, was one of the most well-known non-banking financial companies (NBFC) in the world.
On July 1, HDFB Bank and HDFC announced the successful $40 billion merger, one of the biggest in India's corporate history. The merged entity was expected to have a combined asset base of Rs 18 trillion. Each shareholder with 25 shares of HDFC was given 42 shares of HDFC Bank. HDFC was de-listed from the bourses on July 13.
Days after the merger, on July 18, HDFC Bank crossed the $100 billion m-cap and became the seventh largest lender globally. As of December 28, it is the second largest listed entity in India with a market cap of $159 billion.
Go First insolvency: From skies to the ground
Go First was one of the biggest names in the Indian aviation sector until it wasn't. On May 2, the airline said it was filing for voluntary insolvency proceedings and grounded its entire fleet.
The resolution process was initiated and several banks stated that no more funds should be given to Go First.
The airline blamed "faulty" engines by Pratt & Whitney and sought compensation. Its promoter, Nusli Wadia, recently said that the engines caused a loss of Rs 10,000 crore to the airline. The promoters also infused Rs 3,200 crore in the airline but it hasn't flown a single flight since May.
SpiceJet, another domestic carrier, has expressed its interest in acquiring Go First. However, there has been no final decision on either the acquisition or the insolvency.
Foxconn-Vedanta split and entry of Micron: India's semiconductor dreams
Semiconductors have been the talk of the town for many years now, especially since the industry was hit by supply shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic. US, Taiwan, China and South Korea have been the big names in the industry but with a Vedanta and Foxconn joint venture, India also showed it was interested in becoming a partner in the complicated industry. They were to set up a facility in Gujarat under the Centre's product-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
However, the euphoria was short-lived. In July, Foxconn announced that it was pulling out of the JV after failing to meet the government's requirements.
Soon, US major Micron announced it will set up a Rs 2.75 billion assembly, testing, marking and packaging unit in Sanand, Gujarat. The construction of the plant has already begun and the first chips are expected to come out in the coming months.
ITC Demerger: Separation of hotel biz
ITC is widely known for its cigarettes, hotels and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) products. On August 14, the conglomerate announced that it had approved the demerger of its hotels business under the name "ITC Hotels". It added that the shareholders of ITC would get 1 share in the demerged hotels business for every 10 shares held in the parent company.
The company announced that ITC Hotels will operate as an independent hospitality-focused listed entity. The shareholders of ITC would hold 100 per cent of the ultimate beneficial economic interest in the hotel business through direct holding of about 60 per cent and indirect holding of about 40 per cent through ITC.
The shares of ITC Hotels are likely to be listed in 2024.
TCS scam: Bribes for jobs at India's largest IT firm
In June, a media report uncovered a Rs 100 crore bribes-for-jobs scandal at India's largest IT company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). It alleged that senior personnel at the company were accepting bribes from staffing firms to give jobs to their candidates.
The company then went on to form a committee of three members, including chief information security officer Ajit Menon, to probe the allegations. After the conclusion of the probe, TCS sent its head of recruitment on leave and sacked four officials from its resource management group.
In October, the company said it had closed the probe and fired 16 employees for violating the code of conduct. Three people were sacked from the RMG division. Moreover, it barred six HR firms from doing business with the company.
Tata Technologies IPO: A first after 19 years
Tata Technologies listed on the Indian bourses on November 30. It was significant as this was the first IPO of the much-coveted Tata Group in 19 years. Tata Consultancy Services was the group's last IPO in 2004.
The Rs 3,042 crore IPO saw significant interest from the subscribers and was fully subscribed within minutes of opening. At the end of the application period, the issue was subscribed nearly 70 times.
On November 30, it listed at a premium of a whopping 140 per cent at Rs 1,200 against the issue price of Rs 500. Within hours of listing, it topped Rs 1,400. On December 28, the stocks of the company closed at Rs 1,176.65 apiece on the BSE.
Air India and IndiGo: Placing the biggest aircraft orders
Since its takeover by Tata Group, Air India has been working on improving its efficiency and customer experience. In June, it placed an order of 470 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus, the biggest such order in the aviation sector's history.
The orders for 250 Airbus aircraft and 220 new Boeing jets were worth $70 billion.
Within days, IndiGo announced a much bigger order of 500 aircraft from Airbus. Airbus said that it was a "record for the biggest single purchase agreement in the history of commercial aviation".
Since then, the Maharaja has also relaunched itself with a new identity.
Disney+Hotstar loses HBO content: A win for JioCinema
Disney+Hotstar has been finding it difficult to retain its audience in India. It was accelerated when it lost the digital rights to show the Indian Premier League (IPL) to JioCinema.
In March, the company also announced that it will no longer show HBO content on its platform from March 31, one of the most significant news for OTT content makers as well as audience. The impact was visible on its financials as well. In the quarter that ended on September 30, the platform lost 2.8 million paid subscribers.
Later, it was announced that HBO content too would be shown on its rival platform, you guessed it right, JioCinema.
Byju's: Trouble at the world's most valued edtech
Byju's was the first start-up to attain the status of "unicorn" in India. The company soon became a household name as it hired big names like Shahrukh Khan and Lionel Messi as its brand ambassadors.
However, the trouble began to show up after the Covid-19 pandemic when investors showed concerns that the company might not be able to meet the repayment obligations. 2022 was a bad year for the company, but 2023 was worse.
Its auditors raised concerns about the liquidity of the company. It soon missed several debt obligations and was dragged to the courts by the lenders. Several top-level executives, including its auditor, resigned from the board.
Later, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sent a show-cause notice to the company and its founder for violations worth Rs 9,362 crore.
In November, Prosus declared that it had cut the company's valuations to $3 billion. Notably, it was valued at $22 billion in 2022. As of December, Byju's continues to be surrounded by troubles and the road, it seems, is still long for the edtech major.
