Oil-to-telecom conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday reported a 9.3 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) increase in its consolidated net profit for the quarter ended December 2023. This growth was tempered by weakness in the energy segment, which offset steady profit growth in RIL’s retail and telecom businesses.

Also, Mukesh Ambani, RIL’s chairman and managing director, announced in a press statement that the company’s New Energy Giga complex is slated for commissioning in the second half of 2024.

Shares of Aarti Industries (AIL) rose 8 per cent on BSE to Rs 658.70 on in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes.

The average trading volumes on the counter jumped over four-fold. A combined 6.04 million equity shares of the company changed hands on the NSE and BSE.

In the past two days, the stock of the specialty chemicals company has surged 13 per cent after it secured a four-year supply contract worth over Rs 6,000 crore with a multinational conglomerate.

Shares of potato chip maker Prataap Snacks were up 4 per cent at Rs 1,426 on the BSE in Friday’s intra-day trade and have surged 15 per cent in the past two days on reports that FMCG giant Haldiram's is in talks to acquire a majority stake in the company.

As per a Reuters report on Thursday, the Indian snacks maker Haldiram's is considering a majority stake in its listed rival Prataap Snacks, which is valued at $350 million. This is aimed to expand its presence in the potato chip market.

K Krithivasan, CEO and MD of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has expressed confidence in the success of the company's return-to-office policy, stating that it has played a crucial role in maintaining TCS' organisational culture. Speaking to Moneycontrol at the World Economic Forum (WEF), Krithivasan revealed that approximately 65 per cent of TCS associates are now attending the office 3-5 days a week, just a quarter after the implementation of the policy, setting TCS apart from its industry peers.

Shares of Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) surged 14 per cent on BSE to a fresh high of Rs 157.40 in Friday’s intra-day trade amid heavy volumes.

Since November, the stock of the state-owned financial institution has more than doubled or zoomed 109 per cent.

Sony Group Corp has convened a board meeting scheduled for Friday to make a crucial decision regarding its $10-billion merger with Zee Entertainment Enterprises in India, according to a report by The Economic Times (ET). The merger, initially announced two years ago with the aim of creating the country's largest broadcast company, is under scrutiny due to strained negotiations and unresolved issues.

Indian snacks maker Haldiram's is in talks to acquire a majority stake in listed rival Prataap Snacks, which is valued at $350 million, to expand its presence in the potato chip market, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Prataap Snacks shares in Mumbai jumped about 13% to their highest levels since 2018 after the news, before paring some gains to close 9.7% higher.

Some of the key allies of the Congress in the INDIA bloc, including the Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party, have said their respective leaderships and workers will stay away from Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.

In a related development, to bolster the party's less-than-robust organisational strength, the Congress has instructed its state units to collaborate with civil society organisations, which have come together under the rubric of ‘Bharat Jodo Abhiyan’ (BJA).

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has entered an agreement with Taro Pharmaceutical to acquire the balance 21.52 per cent stake in the Israel-based company for a cash consideration of $43 per share amounting to $347.73 million (Rs 2,982 crore).

Sun already owns a controlling stake of 78.48 per cent in the company. The new transaction is expected to complete by 2024-25.

DMI Group, a pan-India financial services platform, on Wednesday night, said it has acquired the beleaguered ‘buy now pay later’ (BNPL) ZestMoney (Zest) platform. DMI, which has raised over $1.5 billion of equity investment and is supported by global institutional investors and international banks, didn’t reveal the value of the transaction.

This development comes more than a month after Bengaluru-based ZestMoney, shut down amid an unsuccessful attempt to revive its business under new management and regulatory uncertainty.

Inviting Real Estate Agents, Job Placements Agents, Educational Institutes, Software Service Providers, Real Estate Builders, Marriage Bureaus, Travel Agents, Restaurant Owners, Health & Fitness Centers and other Local Businesses to Post a FREE Classified Advertisement on Cootera.com Classifieds Website.