Meet man who is 'richer' than Musk, Mukesh Ambani, 'owns' half of the US, set to start business in India with..., name is...
Larry Fink is the CEO of BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company. The financial firm has assets of more than USD 11 trillion, which is less than half of the GDP of the United States – USD 30 trillion. Now, the company is eyeing starting a business in India. BlackRock is going to start the mutual fund business in India in collaboration with Mukesh Ambani's company, Jio Financial Services Limited. Notably, the financial firm's status can be estimated from the fact that, by January this year, it had assets worth USD 11.6 trillion, which is double or even triple the GDP of many countries. Who is Larry Fink
Larry Fink is the individual responsible for overseeing the entire asset management business at BlackRock. He is the chairman and CEO of this global investment firm. Fink and his firm have investments in several companies of many countries across the world, having a strong hold on the entire global stock market.
Although Larry Fink manages a tremendous sum of money, he isn't considered a billionaire in the traditional sense. This is because his wealth is primarily derived from managing public investments entrusted to BlackRock through mutual funds and other market-based vehicles, rather than personal ownership. The article explains the nature of his asset management business and his role within it. The Asset Management Business
Asset Management Companies, also known as AMCs, are financial firms that are active in many financial businesses, such as mutual funds and investments. However, in the mutual fund business clients of these firms invest money for better returns. Since BlackRock is the world's largest asset management firm, its name holds a lot of significance for stock markets around the world. Larry Fink Started Out With 7 Friends
Lawrence Fink and seven partners founded BlackRock in 1988. Over the subsequent 37 years, under Fink's leadership, it grew into the world's largest asset management firm, holding investments in numerous major global corporations, including prominent companies in both the United States and India.
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Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
IPO or M&A? Why Indian promoters are choosing both
From Backup Plan to Built-In Strategy What Has Changed? Live Events IPO vs. M&A: What Founders Stand to Gain Real-Time Instances: How India Is Playing The Dual Game Dual-Track Being Execution-Heavy Is Worth It What H2 2025 Will Bring The Bigger Picture (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel As India steps into the second half of 2025, the country's most ambitious Founders are exiting differently. IPO and M&A are no longer a binary choice. This is the dual-track exit era: When companies prepare for an IPO but keep strategic or financial M&A discussions alive. Long considered a hedge in Western markets, this approach is now an intentional and predominant playbook in this is not just talk. IPO filings of over INR 1.1 lakh crore (USD ~12.7bn) in H1, and more than USD 20bn in disclosed M&A deals, including inbound interest in fintech, NBFCs Q-commerce , and defence, speak for themselves. However, the untold story lies deep beneath the filings, where Founders are engaging in a parallel choreography of multiple used to be the aspirational route, while M&As always seemed to be Plan B. But 2025 has replaced this thinking. Today, founders prepare for IPOs to unlock M&A premium and vice regulatory uncertainty posed roadblocks at the structural level. The reverse flip, i.e., the relocation of Indian-origin startups from Delaware/Singapore back into India, is now quite routine. Several high-growth companies have demonstrated that it is not only feasible but also rewarding, particularly with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) increasingly attending to technological intricacies in IPO vetting, along with MCA/RBI setting up easements in compliance late-stage capital has become selective, thereby forcing Founders to bake in some measures of optionality. The mere preparation of a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), with its rigour in compliance, disclosures, and governance, forces a company to become exit-ready, however, whichever door it walks market volatility exists. What might seem like a golden IPO window in Q1 can suddenly be gone by Q3. Running a synchronised M&A process provides a fallback or, in many cases, a much speedier, cleaner pave the way for long-term growth capital, boost brand visibility, and create a public currency for future deals. M&As bring speed, valuation clarity, and the potential for strategic synergies. Today, Founders are not choosing one over the other; they are leveraging both. Dual tracking is no longer a fallback; it's a forward-looking strategy to maximise value, retain leadership, and shape the future on their terms.A leading fintech unicorn filed its DRHP to raise INR 2,600 crores, post its reverse-flip back to India in April 2025. No M&A deal is prima facie announced; however, indications suggest that the company is setting IPO valuation as the pricing anchor for strategic a prominent quick commerce player has quietly advanced its dual-track agenda. After re-domiciling to India in 2024, its path to IPO was always expected. However, multiple suitors are reportedly circling, and the company seems to be using M&A interest as a pricing test before officially filing its the industrial space, a major building materials company has taken a textbook dual-track approach. While it has SEBI's nod for an INR 4,000 crore IPO, it is also actively exploring inorganic expansion via distressed asset acquisitions under India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework. This two-pronged play supports growth and enhances the company's appeal to both public investors and strategic are no longer isolated cases, but structural changes affecting the exit planning side, as well as the way Indian companies view liquidity strategy in comparison with timing, readiness, and true dual-track process is by no means a passive hedge, but an execution-intensive strategy. Companies must maintain two parallel data rooms - one for IPO diligence and the other for private buyers. The narrative must be tailored differently - growth, governance and scalability for public markets; synergies and market consolidation for strategic buyers. Advisors such as bankers, lawyers, and consultants need to be coordinated to run parallel but distinct processes. Public disclosures like DRHP filings must be timed with precision. They can be used tactically to spark or strengthen M&A conversations, creating price tension across both IPO calendar for H2 2025 is packed, with several large companies across infrastructure, fintech, and consumer sectors preparing to test public market appetite. Meanwhile, strategists sit on record dry powder. Global majors in defence, payments, and consumer internet are scouring India not for early-stage bets but for exit-ready, governance-strong dealmaking is likely to accelerate, particularly for companies in the INR 500–2,000 crore revenue band, where public market appetite may remain sector-sensitive or ambiguous. Dual-track exits will also expand beyond tech into new verticals such as renewables, EV infrastructure, healthcare delivery, and the DRHP itself is gaining a new role, less as a declaration of IPO intent, more as a pricing discovery tool. Increasingly, founders and boards are using it as the new term sheet, signalling readiness and setting valuation benchmarks that strategic buyers must react believe the rise of dual-track exits marks more than just a tactical shift; it signals a maturing of India's private capital ecosystem. This is where Founder ambition meets institutional discipline. Companies are no longer reactive to market sentiment; they're proactively shaping outcomes with optionality built into every decision. Dual tracking is not about indecision, but intelligent design. For founders, it means greater control over timing and valuation. For investors, it offers more flexible exit pathways. And for India Inc., it points to a new era of dealmaking, one that blends global capital sensibilities with India's appetite for innovation and growth.(The author is , Partner, Deal Value Creation Services, BDO India)
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
boAt launches in UAE: India's top homegrown audio brand marks its Gulf market debut
boAt launches full audio and wearable range in the UAE in July 2025, marking its first major Middle East expansion/Image: boAt TL;DR: boAt entered the UAE market in July 2025 as India's top audio wearables brand and the world's No. 3 per IDC rankings. The brand is offering its full range, including earbuds, headphones, speakers, and smartwatches via online platforms and select retail stores. Co-founder and CMO Aman Gupta has positioned the UAE launch as part of a broader GCC expansion , emphasizing localised storytelling, digital-first engagement, and community-driven campaigns. boAt now manufactures around 70% of its products in India, scaling production while balancing quality and local sourcing. In July 2025, boAt officially entered the UAE market, a milestone for a brand that needs no introduction back home in India. boAt is recognised as India's No. 1 and the world's No. 3 audio wearables brand (per IDC data) and is offering its line-up including true wireless earbuds, headphones, portable speakers, and smartwatches across online and offline sales channels. The debut marks its first step into the Middle East market with a full multi-channel strategy and tailored messaging to appeal to UAE audiences. Who Is Aman Gupta And Why It Matters Aman Gupta is the Co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer of boAt Lifestyle and a founding judge-investor on Shark Tank India. With prior careers at Citi, KPMG, and Harman, he launched boAt in 2014 with business partner Sameer Mehta. The brand grew rapidly to lead the Indian audio and wearables space, surpassing both local and global competition. boAt now records annual revenue of approximately ₹3,000 crore (USD 360M) and is among the top five wearable brands worldwide. At events like Fortune India's TheNext500, Gupta emphasised that boAt's international expansion, beginning with markets like the UAE and Bangladesh would ramp up from fiscal year 2025 onward. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 Most Beautiful Female Athletes in the World Click Here Undo His strategy involves controlled, brand-aligned growth rather than rapid global scale-up. Entry Strategy & Local Engagement boAt's UAE entry rests on three pillars: Product range : Offering its full catalog, including audio wearables and smartwatches, with competitive pricing and features tuned for Gen Z and millennial consumers. Retail strategy : Launching via omnichannel, official online presence and partnerships with offline stores. Brand positioning : A bold 'Don't Be a Fanboy' launch campaign conceptualised by Moonshot UAE tapped into boAt's playful yet disruptive spirit. According to Sameer Mehta (CEO, co-founder), the UAE, with its tech-savvy youth, high digital activity, and deep Indian diaspora, is an ideal market for boAt's expansion. As per Gulf Business, Gupta added: 'boAt is built around community, culture, and design… we see a gap between ultra-premium global players and low-cost generic products. That's where boAt fits.' He emphasised that local influencer collaborations and storytelling would drive awareness and affinity. Make in India: From Import to Local Manufacturing Aman Gupta has often spoken about boAt's shift from being a fully imported brand to gradually increasing local production. In 2023, he announced that 70% of boAt products are now manufactured in India, compared to nearly zero pre-COVID. In 2022, boAt became the first Indian wearable brand to produce over one crore (10 million) items in a year. A joint venture with Dixon Technologies and a 2.5 lakh sq ft facility in Noida support these efforts. Why the UAE Launch Is Timely in July 2025 As of late July 2025, boAt's UAE debut holds broader significance: Regional expansion : With GCC inflation stabilising and consumer tech demand rising, boAt is executing Aman Gupta's FY25+ global blueprint. Markets like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Oman are logical next steps. Lifestyle tech demand : UAE's high income levels and appetite for fitness, gaming, creator culture, and digital music align well with boAt's youth-focused product offering. Brand authenticity : boAt's price-to-performance positioning resonates among consumers seeking an alternative to premium global brands without compromising on style and functionality. Marketing resonance : The launch campaign's tone and storytelling style indicate boAt's intention to root itself in local cultural trends while capitalising on the Indian diaspora's influence. boAt's official launch in the UAE in July 2025 marks more than a geographic expansion. It reflects a strategic moment where India's top audio wearables brand aims to replicate its domestic success on global turf, through smart product curation, manufacturing localization, community-driven marketing, and measured scaling. With Aman Gupta at the creative helm, boAt's UAE debut presents a fresh case study in how evolving Indian tech brands can now approach global markets with clarity, cultural nuance, and authenticity
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
IPO or M&A? Why Indian promoters are choosing both
As India steps into the second half of 2025, the country's most ambitious Founders are exiting differently. IPO and M&A are no longer a binary choice. This is the dual-track exit era: When companies prepare for an IPO but keep strategic or financial M&A discussions alive. Long considered a hedge in Western markets, this approach is now an intentional and predominant playbook in India. And this is not just talk. IPO filings of over INR 1.1 lakh crore (USD ~12.7bn) in H1, and more than USD 20bn in disclosed M&A deals, including inbound interest in fintech, NBFCs , Q-commerce , and defence, speak for themselves. However, the untold story lies deep beneath the filings, where Founders are engaging in a parallel choreography of multiple processes. Explore courses from Top Institutes in Please select course: Select a Course Category Technology Operations Management Public Policy Artificial Intelligence Finance Management MBA others CXO healthcare Healthcare PGDM Cybersecurity Data Analytics MCA Leadership Product Management Design Thinking Data Science Project Management Others Degree Data Science Digital Marketing Skills you'll gain: Duration: 12 Weeks MIT xPRO CERT-MIT XPRO Building AI Prod India Starts on undefined Get Details From Backup Plan to Built-In Strategy IPO used to be the aspirational route, while M&As always seemed to be Plan B. But 2025 has replaced this thinking. Today, founders prepare for IPOs to unlock M&A premium and vice versa. What Has Changed? Firstly, regulatory uncertainty posed roadblocks at the structural level. The reverse flip, i.e., the relocation of Indian-origin startups from Delaware/Singapore back into India, is now quite routine. Several high-growth companies have demonstrated that it is not only feasible but also rewarding, particularly with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) increasingly attending to technological intricacies in IPO vetting, along with MCA/RBI setting up easements in compliance procedures. Secondly, late-stage capital has become selective, thereby forcing Founders to bake in some measures of optionality. The mere preparation of a Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP), with its rigour in compliance, disclosures, and governance, forces a company to become exit-ready, however, whichever door it walks through. Thirdly, market volatility exists. What might seem like a golden IPO window in Q1 can suddenly be gone by Q3. Running a synchronised M&A process provides a fallback or, in many cases, a much speedier, cleaner route. IPO vs. M&A: What Founders Stand to Gain IPOs pave the way for long-term growth capital, boost brand visibility, and create a public currency for future deals. M&As bring speed, valuation clarity, and the potential for strategic synergies. Today, Founders are not choosing one over the other; they are leveraging both. Dual tracking is no longer a fallback; it's a forward-looking strategy to maximise value, retain leadership, and shape the future on their terms. Real-Time Instances: How India Is Playing The Dual Game A leading fintech unicorn filed its DRHP to raise INR 2,600 crores, post its reverse-flip back to India in April 2025. No M&A deal is prima facie announced; however, indications suggest that the company is setting IPO valuation as the pricing anchor for strategic acquirers. Meanwhile, a prominent quick commerce player has quietly advanced its dual-track agenda. After re-domiciling to India in 2024, its path to IPO was always expected. However, multiple suitors are reportedly circling, and the company seems to be using M&A interest as a pricing test before officially filing its DRHP. In the industrial space, a major building materials company has taken a textbook dual-track approach. While it has SEBI's nod for an INR 4,000 crore IPO, it is also actively exploring inorganic expansion via distressed asset acquisitions under India's Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) framework. This two-pronged play supports growth and enhances the company's appeal to both public investors and strategic buyers. These are no longer isolated cases, but structural changes affecting the exit planning side, as well as the way Indian companies view liquidity strategy in comparison with timing, readiness, and leverage. Dual-Track Being Execution-Heavy Is Worth It The true dual-track process is by no means a passive hedge, but an execution-intensive strategy. Companies must maintain two parallel data rooms - one for IPO diligence and the other for private buyers. The narrative must be tailored differently - growth, governance and scalability for public markets; synergies and market consolidation for strategic buyers. Advisors such as bankers, lawyers, and consultants need to be coordinated to run parallel but distinct processes. Public disclosures like DRHP filings must be timed with precision. They can be used tactically to spark or strengthen M&A conversations, creating price tension across both tracks. What H2 2025 Will Bring The IPO calendar for H2 2025 is packed, with several large companies across infrastructure, fintech, and consumer sectors preparing to test public market appetite. Meanwhile, strategists sit on record dry powder. Global majors in defence, payments, and consumer internet are scouring India not for early-stage bets but for exit-ready, governance-strong assets. Pre-IPO dealmaking is likely to accelerate, particularly for companies in the INR 500–2,000 crore revenue band, where public market appetite may remain sector-sensitive or ambiguous. Dual-track exits will also expand beyond tech into new verticals such as renewables, EV infrastructure, healthcare delivery, and logistics. Interestingly, the DRHP itself is gaining a new role, less as a declaration of IPO intent, more as a pricing discovery tool. Increasingly, founders and boards are using it as the new term sheet, signalling readiness and setting valuation benchmarks that strategic buyers must react to. The Bigger Picture We believe the rise of dual-track exits marks more than just a tactical shift; it signals a maturing of India's private capital ecosystem. This is where Founder ambition meets institutional discipline. Companies are no longer reactive to market sentiment; they're proactively shaping outcomes with optionality built into every decision. Dual tracking is not about indecision, but intelligent design. For founders, it means greater control over timing and valuation. For investors, it offers more flexible exit pathways. And for India Inc., it points to a new era of dealmaking, one that blends global capital sensibilities with India's appetite for innovation and growth. (The author is , Partner, Deal Value Creation Services, BDO India)
