Friday, August 21
In a transformative deal that reshapes India's quick-service restaurant (QSR) landscape, Devyani International and Sapphire Foods have announced a merger that will create one of the country's largest QSR platforms with over 3,000 restaurants and consolidated revenue exceeding Rs 7,800 crore. The share-swap transaction, set at 177 Devyani shares for every 100 Sapphire shares, consolidates all KFC and Pizza Hut operations in India under a single operator for the first time.The merger ratio offers near-perfect parity, implying approximately a 1% discount for Sapphire shareholders based on current market prices, according to multiple brokerages. The swap leaves virtually no arbitrage opportunity, a rarity in merger transactions. Devyani shares were trading 1% higher at Rs 149.55 while Sapphire
ITC shares crashed to a three-year low of Rs 345.35 on Friday, extending a brutal two-day selloff that has seen the Nifty bluechip stock plummet 14% after the finance ministry delivered a tax bombshell on cigarettes. The stock fell another 5% on Friday after losing 10% on New Year's Day, triggering a flurry of downgrades from at least six brokerages scrambling to reassess the damage.The magnitude of the tax increase is staggering. Effective February 1, cigarette taxes will jump approximately 50%, forcing ITC to implement price hikes of at least 25% at the portfolio level just to maintain current net realization per stick, according to Motilal Oswal. The brokerage downgraded ITC from Buy to Neutral with a revised target price of Rs 400."To offset the tax burden, ITC will need to implement s
