In a surprise announcement, Tata Motors said that former Daimler executive Marc Llistosella, who was named chief executive officer (CEO) of the company a little over a month ago, will not join the firm. The Tata Motors statement did not give any reason for the change of decision. Llistosella, a German, was to join the Mumbai-based company on July 1. The development drags Tata Motors back to square one as chairman N Chandrasekaran will have to find a replacement for outgoing CEO Guenter Butschek. Butschek, whose five-year term at the company ended in February, is on an extension till June 30. Llistosella, said sources, had attended virtual meetings of Tata Motors to become familiar with the affairs of the company. When the automotive expert was appointed as Tata Motors CEO.
TCS to give pay hikes in April
TCS will offer salary increments to its employees for the next fiscal year starting April 1, becoming the first IT services company to commit to do so. The news will likely come as a sentiment booster to employees at a time when the industry is still recovering from the pandemic downturn. The company had given a 6-8% increment in October. So, in six months, the employees will get 12-14% average increments. Most IT companies announced hikes in October in addition to also promoting employees. The increment signals a return to normal appraisal cycles and indicates that the havoc created by the pandemic this fiscal is perhaps well and truly behind the industry. “We can confirm that we are on track to give increments to all associates across our geographies effective April 2021,” a TCS spokesperson said.
Zomato plans to file for its IPO by next month
Zomato, the food delivery startup backed by Jack Ma’s Ant Group, is planning to file the draft prospectus by April for its initial public offering (IPO) that could raise about $650 million, according to people familiar with the matter. The company could complete the listing in Mumbai before the end of September, the people said. A representative for Zomato didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. Founded in 2008 in Delhi, the company employs more than 5,000 people, according to its website. Zomato recently raised $250 million from investors including Kora Management and Fidelity Management & Research, valuing the startup at $5.4 billion, according to an exchange filing in February by Info Edge India, an existing backer.
Koo’s Chinese investor sells entire stake
Chinese investment firm Shunwei Capital, founded by Xiaomi founders Lei Jun and Tuck Lye Koh, has made a full exit from Koo, the desi alternative to Twitter. Koo gained prominence in India following the government’s strained relations with Twitter over content moderation. Shunwei, which has placed several aggressive bets on Indian startups, held about 9% stake in Koo’s parent firm Bombinate Technologies. Koo’s existing investors like venture funds Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, Kalaari Capital and 3one4 Capital have bought half of Shunwei’s stake and the rest has been bought by prominent angel investors, including new names like former Indian cricketer Javagal Srinath. Other angel investors who have participated are Book-My-Show founder Ashish Hemrajani, Udaan co-founder Sujeet Kumar, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy, and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamat.
