MC Insider: Returning to work, DRHP filing frenzy, PE firms turn head hunters and more

This mid-sized private bank is actively looking to buy out a microfinance company. The top team has assigned a team to shortlist and identify a suitable candidate to fill the missing link in the bank's product mix. The team is on the job. Who will it be? For what price? No clarity at the stage. But something should happen by end of this year or by next year, tells an insider. The bank is already a serious player in the MSME business but it doesn't have the required skill-set to manage microborrowers, which is a different ball game altogether.

Private Equity investors who are flocking to get a slice of India's pharma market and its low cost manufacturing advantage, are also creating a new churn in both the top and mid-level leaderships. Some PE investors who took control of pharma companies, are poaching talent from other top Indian and MNC pharma companies, to manage their companies. These top executives in turn bring with them a bunch of key executives from their respective erstwhile companies. We have seen a case of a domestic formulation head at a top Indian pharmaceutical company, joining as the CEO of a PE-led company. He also brought with him several key people from his previous employer. Similarly a top executive who heads manufacturing of a leading API company was poached by a PE firm to set up an API company through a string of acquisitions. He brought his entire team from his previous employer.

Buzz is that the beauty parade for the mother of all IPO’s (of course not Paytm, silly!) which is targeted for the March quarter of FY22, seems to have slowly and steadily begun, with some i-bankers kick-starting discussions and meetings last week. This would be a prized mandate indeed for which all strings may be pulled and there would be frenetic lobbying. The Modi regime has so far mopped up Rs 7,646 crore through disinvestment in FY22 and this mega issue, a watershed moment for the domestic capital markets, should keep the Finance Ministry well placed, when it comes to the ambitious disinvestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore.

This large VC fund is gradually discovering the perils of managing a lot of money. Investors are competing against each other internally, founders do not know whom to reach out to, and bureaucracy seems to be reigning supreme. While VC firms are known for being small and quick, in this case, the founders now believe that there is just too much internal politics at this firm to close a deal quickly. Investors are struggling to fix accountability and a revamp of the internal structure is on the cards.

COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among employees is a big cause of concern for employers. MC Insider had earlier highlighted how corporates are giving deadlines to get vaccinated against COVID-19, a few companies are moving a step ahead. In-house doctors and members of HR teams at a few financial services firms are now being sent home to unvaccinated employees (those who haven't even taken their first dose). This is to seek clarification about their decision to not take the vaccines followed by explanations of the dangers of this stance. We hear that some employees who gave an excuse of waiting for the Pfizer vaccine were told that they could take booster shots of this vaccine later.

The coming week will witness a flurry of DRHP filings by firms (rumour is the figure could exceed 20) across multiple sectors like FMCG, healthcare and pharma. This is the “12th August rush” as firms do not want the comfort letter from their auditors to lapse. So why is 12th August such a sacrosanct date? Well if the March financials are being used for filings, then auditors, especially Big 4 firms, are not comfortable beyond 135 days of the most recent financial statements that have been audited or reviewed. Hence the filing frenzy folks!

This company has been going through rough times in the last couple of years after a spectacular run in the previous two decades. A CEO change can make or break a company and in this case, unfortunately, the latter seems to be the case, going by tepid growth, drop in margins, loss of market cap, market share and non-stop flight of talent. Former employees now avidly use a woodcutter story from a Facebook group to describe its dire straits. Here's an abridged version: "Once upon a time there was a beautiful garden that needed cleaning as it was very old. The company brought in a woodcutter as a gardener. He came like a superhero with a bulldozer and tons of axe’s to clear the garden. It was a total warzone out there. What will the owners do now to the woodcutter? Was it a mistake or a conscious decision to bring in a woodcutter for a gardening job?" The forward helpfully carries a disclaimer that it's a non-corporate joke and bears no resemblance to anyone living or dead. Well, if you know, you know!

For this IT services firm, its return to work plan pilot which it attempted recently was far from successful. According to this industry executive, who is aware of recent developments at the firm, this particular company in an attempt to bring employees back to office did a pilot as vaccination gained pace, after over a year of working from home across the country. The pilot was intended to get 250 employees to office initially. "But only 25 people showed up," the executive chuckled. "It is not going to be easy to get employees back to work considering that they are working in their homes and are used to this lifestyle," the executive said. Tech firms are clearly facing the reality of solid resistance, considering a diversified workforce, many of whom are stationed away from the cities.