Billionbrains Garage

July 15 (Reuters) - Indian discount brokerage Groww's parent, Billionbrains Garage Ventures BILO.NS, on Wednesday posted first-quarter profit that nearly doubled.

The company's consolidated net profit rose to 7.35 billion rupees ($76.5 million) for the quarter ended June 30, from 3.78 billion rupees a year ago.

($1 = 96.1350 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru; Editing by Nivedita Bhattacharjee)

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The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.

By Shritama Bose

MUMBAI, July 13 (Reuters Breakingviews) - India's mom and pop investors are shoring up Amundi's AMUN.PA fortunes. When SBI Funds Management SBIA.NS — the country's largest asset manager — makes its trading debut, the French financial giant looks poised to earn a strong return on its 15-year-old investment. It validates a long gamble on Indian savers and underlines the value of a locally dominant partner.

The $99 billion State Bank of India SBI.NS is targeting a 1.17 trillion rupee ($12.26 billion) valuation for the asset manager, of which it owns 62%. SBI and Amundi's local unit together are offering up to a 10% stake in the float. The sale would crystallise a 38% annualised return on the French company's 2011 investment, per Breakingviews calculations.

That payoff is due partly to Indian households shifting savings away from banks and into traded assets, spurred by lacklustre deposit yields. Equally useful was a high-voltage campaign by the asset-management industry touting the virtues of mutual funds everywhere from railway compartments to sports broadcasts. A surge in monthly subscriptions known as systematic investment plans has supported local equities during the past 18 months' unprecedented bout of foreign selling.

Mutual funds now make up 10% of India's household financial savings, twice the level of a decade ago. A key beneficiary is SBI Funds, which commands 15% of this market — 12.5 trillion rupees ($131 billion) in assets under management. Its network of more than 132,000 distributors and 23,000 SBI bank branches gives it an unmatched edge in selling fund schemes.

There's ample room for growth: in India, mutual fund assets amount to only 19% of GDP, compared with 57% in Germany, 73% in Brazil and 126% in the United States.

It suggests richer fruits in store for Amundi, which will continue to own 32% of SBI Funds after the IPO. At home, CEO Valérie Baudson faces a conundrum: three quarters of inflows are going into fast-growing but low-fee index trackers, while the more lucrative active business remains heavily reliant on bank distribution. Some 44% of assets are still in France, where it enjoys long-standing access to Crédit Agricole and Société Générale branches, whereas penetrating Northern Europe has proved harder.

In less-mature markets such as India, however, Amundi can simply strike alliances with the country's largest lenders and see fees balloon. Asia's share of its assets has already risen to 20%.

To be sure, non-bank challengers aim to disrupt that model by sourcing customers digitally — among them Jio BlackRock, backed by Mukesh Ambani and Larry Fink, and top broker Groww's owner Billionbrains Garage Ventures BILO.NS. Still, direct channels account for less than half of mutual fund sign-ups. For now, Amundi can savour its gains.

Follow Shritama Bose on LinkedIn and X.

CONTEXT NEWS

SBI Funds Management set a price band of 545 rupees to 574 rupees per share for its Mumbai initial public offering, State Bank of India said in a filing on July 8. The $1.2 billion offering, which will open for subscriptions on July 14, will target a market capitalisation of 1.17 trillion rupees for the asset manager.

Majority owner SBI will sell up to a 6.3% stake and its partner Amundi will offer up to a 3.7% stake in the IPO. SBI Funds will not issue new shares.

Nine bookrunners, including Kotak Mahindra, Axis Capital and BofA Securities, are advising the issue.

(Editing by Jon Sindreu; Production by Aditya Srivastav)

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June 4 (Reuters) - Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd BILO.NS:

• FRIALE FUND IV LLC SELLS 11.3 MILLION GROWW SHARES VIA BLOCK DEALS AT 185.5 RUPEESPER SHARE ON BSE - EXCHANGE DATA

Further company coverage: BILO.NS

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** Shares of India's discount brokerage Groww BILO.NS rise 2.04% to 189.50 rupees

** Co says the country's market regulator, SEBI, has approved State Street Global Advisors' proposed investment in Groww Asset Management

** Adds State Street will hold 4.85% voting rights and 22.94% economic interest in Groww AMC upon completion of the deal

** BILO rated "Buy" on average by 8 analysts, median PT at 222.50 rupees - data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, stock up 21.21%

(Reporting by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru)

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April 20 (Reuters) - Billionbrains Garage Ventures Ltd BILO.NS:

• GROWW Q4 CONSOL NET PROFIT 6.86 BILLION RUPEES

• GROWW Q4 CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 15.05 BILLION RUPEES

Further company coverage: BILO.NS

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** Brokerage BofA Securities initiates India's Billionbrains Garage Ventures, parent of Groww BILO.NS, with "buy" rating, sets PT at 235 rupees

** Shares of BILO up 2.3% to 213 rupees

** BILO set for sixth straight session of gains

** Co well positioned to outpace industry growth owing to its strong focus on new-to-investing customers and increasing product adoption amongst existing users- BofA

** BofA expects rev growth of 30% CAGR over FY26E-28E for co

** Co has one of the highest profit margins among peers- BofA

** BILO rated "buy" on avg by 9 analysts covering it; median PT at 190 rupees- data compiled by LSEG

** YTD, BILO up 33.5%

(Reporting by Komal Salecha in Bengaluru)

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March 25 (Reuters) -

• INDIA ANTITRUST BODY: APPROVES STAKE BUY IN GROWW ASSET MANAGEMENT BY STATE STREET GLOBAL ADVISORS, INC

Further company coverage: BILO.NS

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By Jaspreet Kalra

MUMBAI, March 4 (Reuters) - Walmart-backed Indian fintech firm PhonePe PHOP.NS, the country's most used payments platform, is aiming to list at a valuation of between $9 billion and $10.5 billion, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

That suggests the IPO will raise about $900 million to $1.05 billion. But even at the top end, the deal would mark a cut from the $12 billion valuation at which PhonePe last raised $100 million in private markets in 2023.

Walmart WMT.N will trim its stake in PhonePe by ‌about 12% in the firm's initial public offering, while Tiger Global and Microsoft MSFT.O plan to exit their stakes, according to the firm's IPO filing.

The three firms will sell around 50.7 million shares in the ⁠offering and PhonePe will not issue any new shares.

PhonePe, which competes with Google Pay and Paytm PAYT.NS in India, filed for its IPO in September and aims to complete the process by April, one of the sources said, although the timeline could shift depending on capital market conditions, including any impact from the Middle East conflict.

Both sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential. PhonePe, Walmart, Tiger Global, and Microsoft did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

The expected valuation of PhonePe, which means "on the phone" in Hindi, and timing of the issue have not been previously reported.

PhonePe's listing would make it India's second-largest fintech IPO, behind Paytm's about $20 billion listing in 2021.

Paytm currently trades at a market capitalization of $7.1 billion.

'MONETISATION REMAINS A QUESTION MARK'

PhonePe has more than 650 million registered users and processed nearly 10 billion of the 21.7 billion transactions on India's unified payments interface (UPI) in January, regulatory data showed. But payments in India remain a low-margin business.

India launched UPI in 2016 and barred companies from charging fees for the instant payment service to spur digital payments and reduce cash use in Asia's No.3 economy.

PhonePe's losses widened to 14.44 billion rupees ($158 million) in the six months ended September 30, from 12.03 billion rupees a year ago, while revenue rose about 22% to 39.18 billion rupees, the firm's IPO filing showed.

Two portfolio managers, who met the company's management in pre-IPO roadshows, said excitement around the country's fintech sector had cooled and that there were lingering questions around PhonePe's ability to monetise its user base - a key reason it may not achieve a valuation closer to its last funding round.

"Monetisation remains a question mark. Active users aren't growing at the same pace so the game is all about upsell and that remains to be seen," one of the portfolio managers said.

Investors also see India's fintech market as overcrowded with little differentiation among players, said a third source, a banker to the issue.

These sources also spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to media.

($1 = 92.1730 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Jaspreet Kalra in Mumbai; additional reporting by Gopika Gopakumar in Mumbai; Editing by Himani Sarkar)

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Updates share levels, adds brokerage comments in paragraphs 3,8

Feb 16 (Reuters) - Shares of Indian bourse BSE BSEL.NS led losses among bourse and brokerage stocks on Monday, dropping as much as 9.9%, after the country's central bank tightened norms for bank lending to stock brokers and other market intermediaries.

On Friday, the Reserve Bank of India issued revised norms regarding banks' lending to capital market participants, including higher collateral requirements for bank guarantees and a ban on lending for proprietary trading by brokers.

Proprietary trading, which involves using a company's own funds to trade, accounts for 50% of equity options premium turnover, according to Jefferies. Stricter collateral requirements for bank financing to such traders would raise costs.

Stock brokers Groww BILO.NS, Angel One ANGO.NS and Motilal Oswal Financial Services MOFS.NS fell as much as 4.8%, 9.5% and 3.3%, respectively.

The revised norms will take effect from April 1.

The new rules, in conjunction with the recently hiked transaction tax on equity futures and options, are expected to dampen derivative trading volumes. India's federal government and financial regulators have taken several steps to cool the derivative trading market, where retail investors have made losses.

Jefferies pegs BSE as the most affected by the new regulations on proprietary trading, which could result in a 10% earnings impact on the exchange operator.

Angel One would need to "immediately relook" its funding for the margin trading facility, JM Financial analysts said in a note, while Groww may need to raise funds from the market.

(Reporting by Nandan Mandayam in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Janane Venkatraman)

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-- Source link: https://tinyurl.com/4desesu3

-- Note: Reuters has not verified this story and does not vouch for its accuracy

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** Shares of Billionbrains Garage Ventures, parent of Groww BILO.NS, jump ~7% to 175 rupees; on track for best day in a month

** Co reported a 24% yoy rise in Q3 adjusted profit on Jan 14; rev rose 25% yoy

** Shares of BILO rose as much as 3% on Jan 14 after results, closed 1% higher

** Brokerage Jefferies ("buy", hikes PT to 195 rupees from 190 rupees) says new ventures ramping up faster than expected

** Adds adj PAT and rev beat was led by higher-than

expected commodity & margin trading facility revenues

** Brokerage Citi ("buy", PT at 195 rupees) says co delivered solid Q3, market share across segments

** BILO gained ~34% since listing on Nov 12, 2025

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

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Jan 15 (Reuters) - Indian brokerage Angel One ANGO.NS reported a drop in third-quarter profit on Thursday, as regulatory curbs on equity derivatives designed to prevent speculative trading dampened retail investor participation.

The Mumbai-based company reported a 4.5% fall in its consolidated profit to 2.69 billion rupees ($29.78 million) for the period ended December 31.

Angel One recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of profit decline after markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India in late 2024 reduced the number of weekly options contracts and increased the minimum trading amount.

The nearly 30-year-old company, which competes with market leaders such as Zerodha, Groww BILO.NS and Upstox, derives more than 75% of its revenue from derivatives trading.

Angel One said the total number of orders in the December quarter fell about 10% year-on-year, while gross client acquisition dropped 16.3%.

Since the curbs, the company has stepped up its efforts to diversify into margin funding, wealth management, insurance, loan distribution and asset management.

The brokerage's fees and commission income fell 1.7% during the third quarter. However, its total quarterly revenue from operations rose 5.8% to 13.35 billion rupees, helped by an increase in interest income.

Angel One also approved an interim dividend of 23 rupees per share and a share split in 1:10 ratio, according to the exchange filing.

($1 = 90.3340 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Meenakshi Maidas in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Shreya Biswas)

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** Brokerage Citi starts coverage on Indian stock brokers Angel One ANGO.NS and Groww BILO.NS with a "Buy" rating

** Says prefer ANGO over BILO due to ANGO's brand re-positioning, steady business diversification, and benign valuations

** ANGO showed business agility by smoothly transitioning to a digital-first broking platform from a traditional one - Citi

** See earnings per share compounded annual growth rate of 26% over FY2026-29E for ANGO - note

** Sets PT for ANGO at 3215 rupees, BILO at 195 rupees

** ANGO shares up 2.5% to 2500 rupees; BILO down 0.62% to 161 rupees ahead of quarterly results

** Brokerage notes BILO's customer-centric approach, first mover advantage in direct MF, and leadership in retail broking, driving high brand recall

** Adds elevated cross-sell potential to a large captive customer pool, augers well for revenue accretion for BILO

** ANGO lost 20% in 2025, BILO up 61% from the issue price of 100 rupees since listing on Nov 12, 2025

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

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** Motilal Oswal initiates coverage on Groww BILO.NS with "Buy" and PT at 185 rupees

** Brokerage says the D2C digital investment platform is well-positioned to compound earnings in a structurally under-penetrated Indian capital markets ecosystem

** Says expanding monetization for affluent clients via the wealth management platform should reduce earnings volatility

** Expects Groww's FY25-28 revenue to grow at 25% CAGR and PAT to grow at 30% CAGR

** Stock currently up 0.26%

(Reporting by Mridula Kumar in Bengaluru)

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Updates with details throughout

Dec 3 (Reuters) - Meesho's MEES.NS $604 million initial public offering was fully subscribed the first day of bidding on Wednesday as retail investors rushed to grab a share of the Indian e-commerce platform amid a booming IPO market.

The company, which is seeking a valuation of up to $5.6 billion, received bids for 429.13 million shares as of 3:32 p.m. IST, against the 277.94 million shares on offer, exchange data showed.

Retail investors bid for 173.64 million shares, more than three-fold the 51.03 million shares set aside for them.

Meesho's listing is the latest in the line of IPOs from technology-driven companies like Groww BILO.NS, Lenskart LENS.NS and PhysicsWallah PHYS.NS taking advantage of a booming primary market.

More than 300 IPOs have raised $19.26 billion in India so far this year, setting the stage for 2025 to be a record year for IPO fundraising, LSEG data showed.

"We believe Meesho's asset-light model, zero-commission structure for sellers and disciplined cost optimisation have enabled rapid user and order growth while steadily improving unit economics," said Rajan Shinde, research analyst at Mehta Equities.

Backed by Softbank and Peak XV Partners, Meesho has already raised about $270 million from anchor investors such as SBI Innovative Opportunities Fund and Government of Singapore ahead of the public launch of its IPO. The offering closes on December 5.

Non-institutional investors bid for 1.38 times the number of shares on offer for them, and the portion set aside for qualified institutional buyers was also fully subscribed.

Meesho's revenue rose 29.4% to 55.78 billion rupees ($622.96 million) in the first half of fiscal 2026, and its losses narrowed 72.1% to 7 billion rupees, according to its IPO prospectus.

"While strong scale momentum supports the growth narrative, near-term profitability remains volatile," Angel One said.

(Reporting by Anuran Sadhu and Vivek Kumar M in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)

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** Shares of India's Billionbrains Garage Ventures BILO.NS rise 7% to a record high of 186 rupees

** Stock eyes fifth straight session of gains, has climbed every day since listing on November 12

** More than 58 million shares of BILO traded in multiple block deals at premium from last close - as per LSEG data

** Block deals at a premium of 3.3% to 11% from last close

** Co set to report first earnings report since listing on November 21

** Groww surges 66% from IPO issue price of 100 rupees

(Reporting by Komal Salecha)

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** India's Billionbrains Garage Ventures BILO.NS, parent of stockbroker Groww, surges 20% to 120.07 rupees

** Stock opens at 112 rupees on the National Stock Exchange of India, vs the issue price of 100 rupees

** BILO's $754 million IPO was fully-subscribed within hours of opening last week, led by strong demand from institutional and retail investors

** Groww made a good IPO debut, reflecting healthy investor confidence driven by strong brand recall and rapid user growth in the Indian digital investing ecosystem, says Shivani Nyati of Swastika Investmart

** Co raises $127 mln from fresh issue of shares with proceeds to be used for technology investments, brand building, and expanding its margin trading facility, the prospectus shows

(Reporting by Kashish Tandon in Bengaluru)

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