Tale of the Tape 

Good evening everyone. Happy Friday!

Nifty (+0.4%) and Sensex (+0.4%) ended higher for a fourth day in a row. Midcaps (+0.3%) and Smallcaps (+0.9%) extended their winning streak too. The advance-decline ratio was in favour of the bulls (3:2).

Most sectors ended in the green. Oil & Gas (+1.2%) and Pharma (+0.6%) saw the most buying. Real Estate (-1.6%) and (0.4%) witnessed some selling pressure.

JSW Group upped its paint game with a big acquisition. Read our top story below to get all the deets.

Nykaa has been on a tear lately. Check out the top takeaways from its recent investor day below.

IndusInd Bank was up +3% after reports said Bajaj Finance’s Anup Saha and Axis Bank’s Rajiv Anand were in the race to be the new CEO.

Torrent Pharma jumped +5% after a double upgrade by JPMorgan; the brokerage sees a +13% upside from current levels.

Jio Financial (+4%) was the top Nifty gainer after SEBI granted its BlackRock JV a stockbroking licence.

Mazagon Dock (+2%) was in focus after it acquired a majority stake in Colombo Dockyard for $53 million.

Ahluwalia Contracts (+5%) announced that it secured two major construction projects worth Rs 1,104 cr.

M&A
Mujhe Rang De!

Akzo Nobel India jumped +8% intraday after its Dutch parent agreed to sell its entire stake in the firm to the JSW Group. This is a major shake-up in the paints sector and there’s a lot going on, so here’s what you need to know.

Deal deets: JSW will pay around Rs 8,986 cr for a 74.76% stake, which values the company around ~$1.6 billion. Other considerations could add another Rs 447 cr to the transaction, making it the Indian paint sector’s biggest deal on record! PS - this will trigger an open offer, with JSW setting the price at Rs 3,418 p/sh; a 6% premium to Thursday’s close.

The back story: Akzo’s promoter has been struggling with a slowdown, high inflation and a decision to focus on its core coatings business. It announced back in October 2024 that it was conducting a “strategic review” and has also said it will be using most of this deal’s proceeds to repay debt. So its decision to exit India says less about the domestic market and more about itself.

State of play: JSW Paints goes from being a minor player to the fourth-biggest paint company, with a combined capacity of ~420k KL. In terms of market share, it puts JSW within striking distance of Berger and Kansai Nerolac and comfortably ahead of Birla. It’s a good deal for JSW Paints, which managed to turn profitable only in FY24. As MD Parth Jindal put it earlier this year: “There is no choice... I have to give everything I've got for Akzo Nobel India.” 

As for how this will affect incumbents, it’s less clear. Obviously, competition + discounts will increase, while margins fall. It may also halt Birla’s steady march for a bit. But Elara Capital believes that as JSW deals with integration challenges, it could actually allow rivals to strengthen their position in the luxury segment (which Akzo specialises in). That’s why Asian Paints is up a cool +3% today!