📦 India's Delivery King Just Got Bigger

☕ Good Morning, Masala Crew!

It’s Saturday, May 17, and just like a perfectly steeped chai, this week’s news is bold, rich, and just the right amount of spicy. From Diaper Kings raising crores to podcast drama brewing at Spotify, we’ve got everything you need to stay ahead of the curve.

Whether you’re relaxing at home or hustling through the weekend, sip on this hot cup of Masala Chai to power your day!

☕ Chai Shots

• 🏛️ JSW Infra Stake Sold to Meet SEBI Rules: Sajjan Jindal Family Trust cashed in ₹1,210 crore by selling a 2% slice of JSW Infrastructure. The sale helps the company stay compliant with SEBI’s public shareholding norms. Notably, Singapore's government snapped up nearly 0.9% in the deal.

• 🌟 Air India Tries to Block IndiGo-Turkish Alliance: Air India has asked the government to deny lease extensions for IndiGo’s partnership with Turkish Airlines, citing unfair advantage and national security risks. The lease deal expires May 31.

• 🌊 Remittance Tax Shock for Indian Expats: A proposed U.S. bill aims to tax non-citizens 5% on every international money transfer. With $32 billion sent from the U.S. to India last year, this could cost the Indian diaspora $1.6 billion annually.

• 🚚 Delhivery's Fast Lane to Profit: After years of losses, logistics giant Delhivery has posted a net profit of ₹72 crore for Q4 FY25, turning around from a ₹68 crore loss the previous year. Margins improved significantly, and their part-truckload business saw a big boost. ☕ More in the Big Brew below!

• 📉 Moody’s Downgrades US Credit Rating: The U.S. just lost its pristine credit rating from Moody’s due to ballooning debt and rising interest payments. This puts more pressure on the U.S. Treasury and may make borrowing more expensive moving forward.

📈 Market Masala

• 🎉 Indian Markets Gain ₹26 Lakh Cr in a Week: The Sensex surged almost 3,000 points this week, with Nifty up 4.2%, fueled by easing tensions with Pakistan, a truce in global tariffs, and cooling retail inflation. Smallcaps and midcaps soared, with BSE's smallcap index jumping 9.2%.

• 🏨 OYO Adds 3,500 Corporate Clients in FY25: Hospitality firm OYO is making corporate travel smoother than ever. It added 3,500 business clients last year, taking its total to over 6,500. Mumbai, Hyderabad, and Pune led the charge. SBI Life and Cult.fit were among the big names onboarded.

• 🥼 Nobel Hygiene Raises $20M for Diaper Domination: Makers of Friends adult diapers and Teddyy baby diapers, Nobel Hygiene secured ₹170 crore from Neo Asset Management to grow its market share and distribution footprint across India. Adult diapers are expected to become a $1B market by 2030!

• 🌐 Airtel's Global Index Upgrade Sparks $65M Inflow: Bharti Airtel just got a promotion in the FTSE All-World Index, with its investable weight bumped from 44.17% to 45.01%. This minor tweak is set to attract around $65 million (or ₹550 crore) in foreign fund flows starting May 21, boosting Airtel's global investor appeal.

• 🌟 India's Forex Reserves Cross $690B: The RBI reported that forex reserves rose by a healthy $4.55 billion this week, thanks largely to gold. With $86.3 billion in shiny reserves, India now has the fourth-largest forex pile globally, trailing only China, Japan, and Switzerland.

🌎 Global Masala

• 📈 Wall Street Rallies as Tariff Fears Ease: U.S. indices climbed for the fourth straight day after a thaw in U.S.-China trade tensions. Foot Locker jumped 86% on acquisition news, while inflation data added fuel to the rally.

• 🚀 CoreWeave Skyrockets After Nvidia Stake Disclosure: Nvidia revealed it now holds 7% of cloud-compute firm CoreWeave, causing CoreWeave's stock to jump 22% in a day. The move underscores Nvidia’s strategy to double down on AI infrastructure.

• 🛬 Lufthansa’s Largest Investor Calls for Tougher Union Stance: Klaus-Michael Kuehne wants Lufthansa's management to stop being soft with labor unions. He says frequent strikes and resistance are hurting the airline's competitiveness.

• 💎 Cartier Owner Richemont Shines Bright: Richemont stock popped 7% after better-than-expected jewelry sales in Q4. Its Jewelry Maisons, which includes Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels, led the charge with double-digit growth.

☕ The Big Brew: Delhivery Finds Its Lane with Ecom Express Buyout

Delhivery isn’t just delivering parcels anymore — it’s delivering profits and playing market consolidator. Here’s what makes this move a blockbuster:

• 💸 Posted its first full-year net profit of ₹162 crore in FY25, flipping from a ₹249 crore loss last year.

• 📈 Q4 profits reached a record ₹72 crore, driven by steady growth in its part-truckload business.

• 🚚 Acquired rival Ecom Express for ₹1,407 crore in an all-cash deal, signaling a bold move towards industry consolidation.

• 🧵 CEO Sahil Barua called out the end of "suicidal pricing" in logistics, saying consolidation is inevitable.

• 🚪 Plans to absorb Ecom Express’s workforce and leverage overlapping customer bases for smoother integration.

• 🏢 Rapid commerce vertical is picking up pace too, with 18 dark stores operational and a goal of hitting 50 by year-end.

What does this mean? Delhivery is emerging as the leader in India's logistics race. Profitable, aggressive, and tech-forward, it's putting competitors on notice and carving out a commanding market share.

🚀 Startup Scoop

• 🚀 Groww Expands Into Wealth Management with Fisdom Deal: Groww is acquiring wealthtech firm Fisdom in a $150M all-cash deal. With Fisdom’s 1M+ customers and 15+ bank partnerships, Groww is beefing up its wealth vertical before its upcoming IPO.

• 🌟 Peak XV Bags 10x Return From Porter Exit: Peak XV exited Porter with ₹1200 crore, turning a ₹116 crore investment into a near-decade-long jackpot. Porter, now a unicorn, plans to expand its services and team with fresh capital.

• 🚗 PhonePe's Pincode Starts Charging Handling Fee: Hyperlocal medicine delivery player Pincode has started charging a ₹9 handling fee, dropping its earlier "no hidden charges" promise. The move aligns with other platforms aiming for profitability.

🧠 Chai Break Trivia

Did you know? For the first time since the pandemic, India's snack consumption didn't grow in FY25.

🍪 Biscuits and noodles saw a drop as high inflation and fewer new products led households to cut back or switch to smaller/local brands.

🚀 What’s Brewing Next?

• ⌛ IndiGo awaits govt nod on Turkish lease extension due May 31

👋 Until Next Time...

That wraps your Saturday brew! From diaper funding to data center diplomacy, it’s been a wild ride. So go ahead, pour another cup, stretch out, and let the markets and memes wait till tomorrow!