BluSmart faces audit; More on Ather IPO

Time of India

23-04-2025

BluSmart faces audit; More on Ather IPO
Also in the letter:
BluSmart board has appointed Grant Thornton to conduct forensic audit of company's books: Sources
Quote, unquote:
Cause and effect:
Cutting down:
The brothers, their mother Jasminder Kaur, and promoter group Gensol Ventures have lost 57% of their stake since December 31.
As of December 2024, the promoters held 2.8 crore shares, or 62.6% of Gensol, with 81.7% pledged.
By end-March, their holdings dropped to 35.9%, with 95% pledged.
By April 22, creditors had seized an additional 9.2%, leaving them with 26.7%.
Market reacts:
Read ETtech's in-depth coverage of the Gensol-BluSmart crisis:
Promoters, early backers of Ather Energy eye strong gains through IPO
Tell me more:
Tiger Global, which backed the company in 2015 at Rs 38.58 per share, is set to exit with an 8.3x return.
Singapore-based GIC and India's National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), which invested in 2022, are expected to earn multiples of 1.57x and 1.75x, respectively.
OFS play:
Founders Tarun Mehta and Swapnil Jain will each offload shares worth Rs 31.4 crore.
Other selling shareholders include Tiger Global (Rs 12.84 crore), GIC (Rs 192.71 crore), NIIF (Rs 84.57 crore), and IIT Madras (Rs 1.13 crore).
Issue downsizing:
Capex plan:
OpenAI signals interest in buying Google's Chrome if breakup is ordered: ChatGPT exec testifies
Context setting:
Judge Amit Mehta ruled last year that Google holds a monopoly in online search and advertising.
US government attorneys argue that the rise of AI could entrench Google's dominance in search.
The case also scrutinises Google's agreements with companies like Apple and Samsung to keep its search engine as the default option.
What else:
Intel to cut over 20% of workforce: Reports
Also Read:
Finally, deals back on the menu for QSRs, cafe chains
Deal instances:
Homegrown brands such as Mad Over Donuts, Biggies Burger, and Theobroma are close to securing fresh funding from private equity firms and family offices.
Devyani International, the operator of global fast-food chains KFC, Pizza Hut and Costa Coffee, is acquiring a majority stake in Sky Gate Hospitality, the parent company of Biryani By Kilo.
Wow! Momo recently raised Rs 150 crore from Haldiram's Kamal Agrawal and Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional.
Nothing Before Coffee, a café chain focused on India's tier-2 cities, raised $2.3 million in a funding round led by Prath Ventures.
Expert take:
Chart-ed: AI roles fetch up to 40% more pay as GCCs open purse strings
BluSmart's board has appointed Grant Thornton to audit the cash-strapped company's financials. This and more in today's ETtech Top 5.■ OpenAI eyes Google Chrome■ Deal activity up in QSRs■ Chart-ed: AI roles pay moreThe board of embattled BluSmart has initiated a forensic audit of the company's books after whistleblower complaints alleging financial fraud. The company has engaged Grant Thornton for the probe, sources told us.'The company's management had told its investors when it launched its fundraising discussions last year that it had Rs 400-500 crore in cash on its books. However, only a few months later, it was running out of cash,' a person in the know said. 'Investors are questioning where the money went.'The audit follows regulatory action against Gensol Engineering, a listed firm promoted by BluSmart cofounders Anmol and Puneet Singh Jaggi.BluSmart, which was burning through Rs 20 crore each month, failed to close its $50 million funding round and suspended its ride-hailing services earlier this month.Meanwhile, the Jaggi brothers' shareholding has dropped sharply amid ongoing probes by enforcement agencies.Shares of the listed engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) firm have hit the 5% lower circuit since Wednesday's market open, falling over 80% since March 3 when credit downgrades began.Tarun Mehta, cofounder and CEO, Ather EnergyPromoters and early investors in Ather Energy are poised for substantial gains as the electric two-wheeler maker prepares for its public listing later this month.Ather Energy has reduced its IPO size from Rs 3,100 crore to Rs 2,981 crore . According to Ashish Nigam, managing director at Axis Capital, the majority of this reduction stems from a lower offer for sale (OFS) component. Several shareholders chose to stay on, buoyed by Ather's recent performance and growth prospects, he said.CEO Tarun Mehta said the company will focus its capital on product innovation, technology development, and brand building. Ather will avoid investing in asset-heavy areas such as cell-manufacturing and semiconductors, which he described as 'highly volatile and subject to rapid technological changes.' He added, 'We believe suppliers are in a better position to handle that kind of volatility.'ChatGPT's head of product, Nick Turley, revealed that OpenAI would be interested in acquiring Google's Chrome browser should the tech giant be forced to sell it as part of an ongoing antitrust trial.Turley also disclosed that OpenAI had approached Google about integrating its search technology into ChatGPT's AI assistant, but the request was declined.Intel plans to lay off more than 20% of its staff in a sweeping move to streamline operations and refocus on engineering, according to a Bloomberg report.The cuts mark the first major decision under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who has criticised the company's sluggish, bloated middle management.India's quick-service restaurant (QSR) and café sector is witnessing a resurgence in deal activity after a lull lasting five consecutive quarters The sector's growth has been driven by low-cost operating models, value-for-money pricing, and evolving consumer behaviour, said Sagar Daryani, president of the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI). This, he added, is reinforced by people ordering in, choosing OTT platforms over cinemas, and preferring house parties to going out.Demand for GenAI skills is rising rapidly in India's global capability centres (GCCs), increasing by 32% year-on-year in 2024 Early adoption in sectors such as BFSI, retail, and tech is driving this trend, according to a report by Quess. Positions in AI and data science now offer salaries that are 25–40% higher than those for traditional software engineers.