Page 24 - Company News

Matter ties up with Niron to develop rare earth-free motors for e-bikes

China currently controls about 90 per cent of the world's REPM production

Anil Agarwal grieves son Agnivesh's death, calls it his darkest day

Agnivesh Agarwal, the eldest son of mining billionaire Anil Agarwal, passed away in the US. He was 49. Agnivesh, who was on the board of Vedanta group firm Talwandi Sabo Power Limited (TSPL), was recovering from an undisclosed illness at the time of his death. Anil Agarwal has two children: his late son, Agnivesh, and a daughter, Priya, who is on the board of Vedanta and chairperson of Hindustan Zinc Limited.

IRB Infra reports 12% jump in toll revenue to ₹7.54 billion in December

IRB Infrastructure and Developers (IRB) has posted a 12 per cent year-on-year rise in its toll revenue to Rs 754 crore in December 2025. The revenue collection stood at Rs 675 crore in the same month last year, IRB said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. The collection includes revenues from two of its InvITs, namely IRB InvIT Fund (Public InvIT) and IRB Infrastructure Trust (Private InvIT), the company added. Of its total 24 assets, IRB MP Expressway in Maharashtra contributed the major share of Rs 170.3 crore to the total revenue collection in December 2025, up from Rs 163.4 crore in December 2024. Contribution of IRB Ahmedabad Vadodara Super Express Tollway rose to Rs 84.1 crore in December 2025 from Rs 70.7 crore a year ago, the second largest in the aggregate toll collection, the filing said. With Rs 78.8 crore, IRB Golconda Expressway (Hyderabad ORR) was the third largest contributor to the revenues in December 2025, up from Rs 71.3 crore last year. Amitabh Murarka, Deputy

Aivar raises $4.6 million in a seed round to take AI services global

Seed round led by Sorin Investments, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, will fund expansion across India, the US and Middle East and deepen investment in AI accelerators, senior talent

Proxy firms back Shriram Finance stake dilution plan in favour of MUFG

Three Proxy advisory firms have supported all three proposals, including stake dilution in favour of Japan-based MUFG Bank, for the Shriram Finance EGM to be held next week. The extraordinary general meeting has been called on January 14 to secure a nod for fund infusion of Rs 39,618 crore or USD 4.4 billion (about Rs 39,600 crore) from MUFG Bank by diluting 20 per cent stake through preferential issue shares. Last month, Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (MUFG) announced its plan to acquire a 20 per cent minority stake in non-bank lender Shriram Finance for Rs 39,618 crore (around USD 4.4 billion), marking the largest cross-border investment in India's financial sector to date. The first two resolutions are the preferential allotment of shares of 20 per cent shareholding to MUFG Bank and the grant of special rights to MUFG Bank. These are special resolutions requiring 75 per cent of votes cast. The third resolution is the USD 200 million non-compete fee being paid by MUFG

Ed-tech firm LEAD Group targets partnering with 1,200 schools in 2026

With nearly 8,500 schools already on board, LEAD Group is planning its next growth phase ahead of a proposed FY28 IPO

RIL denies report on Russia oil purchase, share price tumbles over 4%

The stock of Reliance Industries declined 4.5 per cent and ended the session at ₹1,508.90, its biggest one-day decline since June 4, 2024

Confident of gradual improvement in consumption over coming quarters: GCPL

Godrej Consumer Products Ltd on Tuesday said demand conditions in India strengthened progressively during the third quarter ended December 2025, and the company is confident of a gradual improvement in consumption over the coming quarters. In its quarterly update, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd (GCPL) said falling inflation and improving affordability following lower GST rates would support growth of consumption, and its standalone business is well-positioned to deliver double-digit revenue growth in the third quarter. "...demand conditions in India strengthened progressively during the quarter. We remain confident of a gradual improvement in consumption over the coming quarters, supported by falling inflation and improving affordability following lower GST rates," GCPL said in a regulatory filing. Against this backdrop, it said, "Our standalone business is well-positioned to deliver double-digit revenue growth for the quarter, underpinned by close to double-digit underlying volume .

CCI approves Nippon Steel's ₹3,500 crore deal to fully acquire Krosaki

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Tuesday approved Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel Corporation's proposal to acquire the remaining 53.4 per cent stake in Krosaki Harima Corporation. Nippon Steel holds a 46.6 per cent stake in Krosaki. After the completion of the transaction, Nippon Steel's holding in Krosaki would be 100 per cent. "The proposed combination involves acquisition by Nippon Steel Corporation (Nippon Steel) of 53.4 per cent shareholding of Krosaki Harima Corporation (Krosaki) by way of a tender offer and potential squeeze out (if applicable)," the regulator said in a release. In India, Nippon Steel is engaged in the business of manufacturing tubes and pipes, and processing automotive cold rolled steel sheets, crankshafts, and auto-parts and also imports and sells various products. Krosaki is a listed company in Japan. In India, Krosaki, through its affiliate entities, is engaged in the manufacturing and sale of refractory products, and services the iron & ..

GCPL expects consolidated revenue to be in double digits in Oct-Dec

Godrej Consumer Products expects double-digit consolidated revenue and EBITDA growth in the October-December quarter, led by strong home care demand and improving consumption trends

Samsung bets on hybrid AI, open ties to strengthen built-in security

Samsung Electronics has said it will prioritise governance, protect privacy and secure its services to ensure that artificial intelligence (AI) emerges as a 'true companion' of users. The South Korean consumer electronics giant's announcement comes amid a raging debate about consumers' security and privacy in the rapidly evolving AI era. Samsung, which is planning to embed AI in all its products and services starting this year, said its hybrid AI model ensures personal data remains on-device whenever possible, and cloud-based intelligence is used selectively when greater speed or scale is required, giving users flexibility without compromising privacy. Additionally, the company emphasised that trust will grow when AI behaves predictably and securely across devices. Samsung's Shin Baik, the head of its AI Platform Center (APC), highlighted Samsung's open collaboration with industry leaders, such as Google and Microsoft, as a way to strengthen shared security research, interoperabilit

MatchLog joins Softlink Global to boost container asset optimisation

Container reuse platform MatchLog on Tuesday said it has entered into an agreement with logistics solutions provider Softlink Global to integrate its container equipment optimisation capabilities with the latter's enterprise resource planning platform Logi-Sys. The integration would help container reuse and asset optimisation for freight forwarders, third-party logistics providers, and shipping companies. The integration is designed to scale across more than 100 countries where Logi-Sys is already deployed, using Softlink Global's footprint to standardise container reuse practices while adapting to regional operating realities, it said. Softlink Global is a digital backbone platform powering freight and logistics operations for more than 5,100 companies globally, while its enterprise resource planning (ERP) platform serves as the system of record for freight forwarding, customs, warehousing, and financial operations. By embedding container optimisation within Logi-Sys, customers ga

ONGC partners with Japan's Mitsui to enter ethane shipping business

The explorer aims to capitalise on emerging opportunities in energy logistics, strengthen integration, and establish an operational presence in specialised shipping

Tata group's Trent Q3 standalone revenue increases 17% to ₹5,220 crore

Tata group retail firm Trent Ltd on Monday reported a 17 per cent growth in standalone revenue to Rs 5,220 crore in the third quarter ended December 31. The company had clocked standalone revenue of Rs 4,466 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal, Trent Ltd said in a regulatory filing. As of December 31, 2025, the company's store portfolio included 278 Westside, 854 Zudio (including 4 in the UAE) and 32 stores across other lifestyle concepts, it added. The company opened 17 stores of 'Westside' and 48 stores of 'Zudio' in the third quarter. For the nine months ended December 31, 2025, standalone revenue was Rs 14,604 crore against Rs 12,368 crore in the year-ago period, up 18 per cent, the filing said. A total of 30 stores of Westside and 89 stores of Zudio were opened in the nine-month period, it added.

Banks see strong deposit growth in Q3 outpaced by rapid credit expansion

HDFC Bank's C/D ratio surges to 99.5%

Adani Power gets relief as Supreme Court nixes SEZ electricity duty

A bench comprising Justices Aravind Kumar and NV Anjaria held that the customs department lacked statutory authority to impose duty on electrical energy cleared from the SEZ to the DTA

Apax Partners makes strategic bet, acquires minority stake in iD Fresh Food

Private equity firm invests more than ₹1,500 crore for over 35% of the ready-to-cook foods maker, backing its expansion across India and Gulf markets, according to sources

HPCL commissions residue upgradation unit at Vizag refinery, boosts margins

Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) has commissioned a residue upgradation facility (RUF) at its Visakhapatnam refinery, significantly enhancing the plant's deep-conversion capability, distillate output and profitability, the company said on Monday. The 3.55 million tonnes-per-year facility includes India's first residue hydrocracking unit and the world's first LC-Max unit, capable of converting about 93 per cent of low-value bottom-of-the-barrel oils into high-value petroleum products. The project marks a major step in upgrading India's refining complexity and reducing dependence on imported fuels. HPCL in a statement said the new unit will raise distillate yields at the Visakh refinery by up to 10 per cent from pre-modernisation levels, and substantially improve gross refining margins by enabling the processing of heavier and opportunity crudes and delivering a superior product slate. The commissioning follows the Visakh Refinery Modernisation Project and lifts the refiner

HDFC AMC forays into private credit market with ₹2,500 crore fund

HDFC Asset Management Company has forayed into the fast-growing private credit market with its new Structured Credit Fund-I, targeting mid-market companies with alternative debt financing. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, will invest up to Rs 220 crore as an anchor investor in HDFC AMC's Structured Credit Fund-I, the asset management company said in its statement on Monday. The fund has already secured about Rs 1,290 crore in commitments in its first close, and is targeting a total corpus of Rs 1,500 crore, with a green-shoe option of an additional Rs 1,000 crore. The commitment amount includes sponsor commitment from HDFC AMC of up to 14 per cent of the fund corpus. The fund will invest in mid-market companies, and it has already committed Rs 380 crore across three deals spanning various sectors. It will target mid-teen returns over a 4-6 year horizon. HDFC AMC said that the fund will improve access to finance for underserved mid-ma

Govt may withdraw X's safe harbour tag over Grok AI obscene content lapses

The government has reportedly warned X of strict action if it fails to follow directions on removing AI-generated obscene content, stressing the need to protect users' safety and dignity online