MC Insider: Big bang deal, regulator whacks MF house, cost of creativity for startups and more

There is a lot of excitement and curiosity on the street about this big-bang ECM deal involving a diversified conglomerate. After all , it's the biggest ever of its kind in the history of the domestic markets. We hear that demand is rock solid and a clutch of top sovereign funds , insurance firms, MFs and AIFs are vying for a slice of the anchor book which is expected to be one of the largest in recent times. Those who missed the bus earlier want to be well prepared this time we guess!

Sticking to deal street , word has it that this player in the lifesciences segment is in fund raise mode. So will it explore stake sale avenues in one of its arms to mop up proceeds ? Well the jury is out on this one folks ...

Moving on from deals, we have picked up buzz that a senior equity research executive from the BFSI vertical of a firm which has also seen an i-banking exit is on his way out and a farewell programme was conducted for the same. So is the gentleman moving to a rival house ? Let's wait and watch ...

This regulator has stepped up its vigil against market participants like brokers, fund managers and many more when it comes to front running and insider running. The slew of regulations it has unleashed upon the Indian MF industry over the past year, for instance, can be traced to some of the misdemeanours we've seen in the capital market in recent years. One such act was of an alleged front-running incident at a mutual fund house, wherein the said regulators order on the matter is pending. Rumour has it that when the firm reached out to seek a closure of the matter (including penalties, if any), pat came the response “You forget what we will do; first you clean up your own fund house', in so many words. Ouch!

This southern state is facing elections in April/May. The ruling BJP has a chief minister who is an import from the Janata Pariwar. Caste calculations forced the BJP high command to appoint him as the Lingayat strongman predecessor's successor in 2021. But the said gentleman is being seen as a weak leader and not accepted by the BJP and RSS leaders.

According to insiders about 40 BJP MLAs have apparently written to the high command to nominate someone else as the CM face. The party's top leaders are neither denying it, nor accepting it. Meanwhile the incumbent says all is well and he is the CM face!

A popular startup founder reached out to an independent writers' group to create an advertising splash. We hear several other popular startup CEOs also reached out to them for creative association. Insiders tell us that the group is known for being selective about their work. They were paid what they quoted without any negotiations because the founder didn't want to compromise on creative output. Rumours are that the group has over a dozen brands chasing them for an upcoming sports league.

We hear a curious legacy marketer dialed his marketing consulting agency to chat about ChatGPT. The marketer was experiencing FOMO. One of the agency's top CXOs gave the marketer a detailed presentation on ChatGPT. By the end of it, the marketer was left thinking deeply and then he joked how this could mean that he could now cut the agency's service fee. The call ended with a lot of awkwardness and nervousness.