The Morning Vine: News for Your Office Commute 📰

𝟏. 𝐖𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐄𝐱𝐞𝐜 𝐒𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐈𝐏𝐎𝐬 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐤𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐏𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐎𝐟 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬

Walmart is planning IPOs for Flipkart and PhonePe within the next 2 years; Walmart may prioritize the IPO of PhonePe over Flipkart, as PhonePe is a leading digital payments platform in India.

Flipkart and PhonePe are expected to become $100 billion businesses, helping Walmart double its foreign sales to $200 billion.

PhonePe’s operating revenue surged an impressive 77% to INR 2,913.7 Cr during the year under review from INR 1,646.2 Cr in FY22.

On the other hand, Flipkart saw its operating revenue near the INR 15,000 Cr mark in the year ended March 31, 2023. The marketplace arm’s operating revenue zoomed 42% to INR 14,845.8 Cr in FY23 from INR 10,477.4 Cr in FY22.

This dual IPO chess game could redefine how global giants navigate India's regulatory chessboard and value creation timelines.

🍇 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝙄𝙨 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩'𝙨 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙋𝙚-𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙄𝙋𝙊 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮 𝙖 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙡𝙖𝙨𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙩 𝙖𝙙𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙛 𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚'𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙨? 𝘼𝙨 𝙐𝙋𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙖𝙧 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩 $1 𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙋𝙚'𝙨 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘 𝙙𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮. 𝙔𝙚𝙩, 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙁𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙩'𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙙 𝙄𝙋𝙊, 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 '𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚' 𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙚-𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙚, 𝙢𝙞𝙧𝙧𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘼𝙢𝙖𝙯𝙤𝙣'𝙨 𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?

Source: Business Today - https://tinyurl.com/2v2xrfut

𝟐. 𝐍𝐨 "𝐌𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬" 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐓 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬?

Mphasis, the 26-year-old mid-cap IT services firm, stands out as the only listed IT company in India that is majority-owned by a private equity firm, Blackstone. Unlike its peers that are loudly proclaiming their preparedness for generative AI, Mphasis is taking a more understated approach, focusing on "real business cases" rather than mass training programs.

Blackstone's influence is becoming increasingly visible at Mphasis. Since increasing its stake to 55% in 2021, the PE firm has been driving operational changes, including the introduction of an internal gig work platform called "Geek Cloud" and a profit-and-loss tracking system that holds each employee accountable for client accounts.

This unconventional approach sets Mphasis apart from the industry norm. While peers disclose detailed workforce metrics, Mphasis keeps a low profile, avoiding the limelight. Analysts believe this freedom to operate out of the public eye is a strategic advantage, as Blackstone prepares the company for an eventual exit.

However, this Blackstone-Mphasis alliance is a double-edged sword. While Blackstone's backing provides operational and financial muscle, Mphasis saw revenues plateau last year, unlike its faster-growing competitors. The PE firm's focus on short-term goals ahead of an exit could also come at the expense of long-term growth.

🍇 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙚 𝙄𝙏 𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩 𝘼𝙄 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝘽𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙣𝙚-𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙈𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙘𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙣 𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙨, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙯𝙯𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨. 𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙬-𝙠𝙚𝙮, 𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙨-𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙙𝙤𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝘼𝙄 𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙨 𝙈𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙤𝙡𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙗𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙋𝙀 𝙢𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧'𝙨 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙧𝙩-𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙢 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩 𝙜𝙤𝙖𝙡𝙨?

Source: The Ken - https://tinyurl.com/muwetk6v

𝟑. 𝐋𝐨𝐭’𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐅&𝐁! 🍜

Cloud kitchen startup EatClub Brands (formerly Box8) is raising $25 million from existing investor Tiger Global, as it continues to scale its portfolio of 11 food brands and over 120 eateries. The company has developed a low-cost model with reasonable margins, reporting revenues of Rs 324 crore in FY23 and an EBITDA margin of 6-7%.

Packaged food brand MasterChow is raising $5 million from Tanglin Venture Partners, as it looks to grow its sauces and noodles business. The company has seen its revenues increase from Rs 3 crore in FY22 to Rs 8.2 crore in FY23.

Bubble tea chain Boba Bhai is negotiating a fresh funding round of Rs 30-50 crore, as it aims to capitalize on the growing popularity of bubble tea in Indian metros. The company claims to achieve 70% gross margins.

The broader food and beverage segment is seeing heightened investor interest, with deals like Khazanah Nasional Berhad's $50 million investment in Wow! Momo and Third Wave Coffee's $35 million Series C round. Early-stage activity is also robust, with startups like Pizza Wings, Burger Singh, and Ghost Kitchens raising funding this year.

🍇 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙁&𝘽 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙯𝙮 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙚; 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙞𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙚. 𝙀𝙖𝙩𝘾𝙡𝙪𝙗'𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙀𝘽𝙄𝙏𝘿𝘼 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙤𝙗𝙖 𝘽𝙝𝙖𝙞'𝙨 𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙖 𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩 𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙘𝙨. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙤𝙧 𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙨-𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙪? 𝘼𝙨 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙗𝙪𝙘𝙠𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨, 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙝𝙮𝙥𝙚𝙧-𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙡, 𝙄𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖-𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙝𝙮 𝙩𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙢𝙥𝙨 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙚. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙛𝙡𝙖𝙫𝙤𝙧 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚? 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙥𝙪𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙩𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙩.

Source: The Arc - https://tinyurl.com/mtmyabfk

𝟒. 𝐁𝐨𝐀𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝟏𝟖 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐬.

Boat is downsizing its wearables business following stiff competition from players such as Fire Boltt, Noise and Tata Group's Titan, a top executive said. Its smartwatch market share slid from 19% in 2022 to 14% last year, according to research firm IDC.

Launching premium "Nirvana by BoAt" brand, aiming to increase audio average selling price by 25%

To stay competitive, Mehta said the company would improve its smartwatch features. For instance, it has tied up with MapMyIndia for navigation and payment functionalities and with Dolby for audio enhancement. 

Turned EBITDA positive, with 75% of products now manufactured domestically.

🍇 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝘽𝙤𝘼𝙩'𝙨 𝙥𝙞𝙫𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙬𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙖𝙪𝙙𝙞𝙤 𝙞𝙨𝙣'𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙖 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙜𝙮; 𝙞𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙬𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙙𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚. 𝘼𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙨 𝙖 25% 𝘼𝙎𝙋 𝙝𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 "𝙉𝙞𝙧𝙫𝙖𝙣𝙖" 𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙙 𝙨𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙬𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙝𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙢𝙨: 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙗𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙬𝙞𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙫𝙖𝙡𝙪𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣, 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙚, 𝙤𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙜𝙡𝙤𝙗𝙖𝙡 𝙜𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙙𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙞𝙪𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙜𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨?

Source: Business Standard, The Arc - https://tinyurl.com/ms8y9rnj

𝟓. 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐚’𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐏𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐲𝐁𝐚𝐳𝐚𝐚𝐫

Chinese internet giant Tencent has offloaded 1.3% in PB Fintech, which owns insurance platform Policybazaar, for Rs 1,080 crore ($129 million) over the last two weeks. This was a bulk deal in the public market.

Tencent’s shareholding in PB Fintech will reduce from 6.2% to about 4.9%, which will be worth more than $340 million. Last year, Tencent sold a 2% stake for $68 million, and since then, PB Fintech’s share price has doubled.

Tencent was an active investor in Indian startups until 2020, when the Indian government put curbs on investments from Chinese companies following border clashes. PB Fintech founder Yashish Dahiya spoke out against China’s aggression in 2020, saying he would buy back Tencent shares if the opportunity arose.

Tencent’s share sale follows Tiger Global and SoftBank Vision Fund’s full exit from the Indian unicorn. SoftBank made $640 million on its $200-million investment, while Tiger netted $232 million on its $44-million bet.

🍇 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙏𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩: 𝙋𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙮𝘽𝙖𝙯𝙖𝙖𝙧'𝙨 2𝙭 𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙜𝙚 𝙖𝙢𝙞𝙙 𝙏𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙩'𝙨 𝙜𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮-𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙞𝙥𝙩: 𝙄𝙨 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙥𝙧𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙨𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙧𝙞𝙨𝙠 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙙𝙜𝙚? 𝙊𝙧 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙚𝙧𝙩𝙖𝙞𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙥𝙨 𝙫𝙪𝙡𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧? 𝙒𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙏𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙎𝙤𝙛𝙩𝘽𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙮, 𝙞𝙨 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖'𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙨𝙘𝙚𝙣𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙧𝙤𝙗𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙞𝙜𝙣 𝙘𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙡?

Source: The Arc - https://tinyurl.com/4cp2f7t8

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