The Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) and Oriental Hotels Limited (OHL) have officially announced their merger through a Scheme of Arrangement, with both boards approving the transaction. According to the latest announcement, the merger will create significant value for OHL shareholders, enabling them to participate directly in IHCL's growth journey. The transaction involves a share exchange ratio of 25 IHCL shares for every 117 OHL shares in an all-stock deal. Completion is targeted for the second half of FY2028 with an Appointed Date of April 1, 2027. The merger will further simplify IHCL's holding structure by increasing direct ownership across several entities, resulting in two new operating subsidiaries that will streamline governance, optimize overheads, and enhance operational efficiency.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced a strategic partnership with Porsche AG for enabling AI services across the mobility value chain, reinforced by a five-year strategic deal from Porsche. As part of the partnership, TCS will establish a dedicated AI Mobility Centre of Excellence for Porsche to drive innovation across manufacturing, engineering, operations and customer experience. The deal involves TCS acquiring 100% of MHP Management- und IT-Beratung GmbH (MHP), Porsche's Germany-based management and IT consulting subsidiary through its subsidiary. MHP brings strong automotive and industrial consulting and implementation experience, with strengths in business transformation, AI, SAP, manufacturing digitalization, and connected mobility. The proposed partnership and acquisition remain subject to regulatory approvals.
Brokerages have issued mixed recommendations on Tata Consultancy Services following its acquisition announcement. According to reports from Essential Business Intelligence, Morgan Stanley maintains an Equal-weight rating with a target price of ₹2,200, citing the MHP acquisition as strengthening TCS's capabilities and providing a long-term strategic relationship with Porsche. The deal is expected to add approximately 3% to revenue growth and less than 1% to PAT assuming mid-single-digit margins. However, Citi maintains a Sell rating with a target price of ₹1,825, noting that while the acquisition anchors a long-term partnership with Porsche, valuations appear low but carry risks of revenue decline. CLSA maintains a Hold rating with a target price of ₹2,326, highlighting that the deal will be part of TCS's orderbook in Q2 while the acquisition closes in 3-4 months. TCS shares closed at ₹2,283.00 on BSE, down from the previous close of ₹2,298.00, with a net turnover of ₹166.77 crore across 72,515 shares. The stock hit an intraday high of ₹2,320.60 and low of ₹2,280.20.
Bernstein maintains an Outperform rating with a target price of ₹2,310 for PB Fintech, emphasizing the company's phenomenal sales engine with high growth, high renewals, and lower claims resulting in high take-rates. According to Essential Business Intelligence, the company grows top-line at 30-35%+ at scale in an industry struggling for growth. Jefferies maintains a Buy rating with a target price of ₹715 for UPL, reporting positive management meetings where the company is confident of full-year growth guidance of 10-14% with Q2 growth shaping broadly in line. The company expects EBITDA margin improvement through rationalization of unprofitable parts of the business.
IHCL shares closed at ₹733.45 on BSE, down from the previous close of ₹734.00, with a net turnover of ₹15.88 crore across 21,806 shares. Oriental Hotels shares ended at ₹138.55, up from the previous close of ₹136.80, with a net turnover of ₹7.20 crore across 52,438 shares. The stock hit an intraday high of ₹139.85 and low of ₹132.95 during trading. Oriental Hotels brings a portfolio of seven hotels with 825 rooms, including freehold assets like Taj Coromandel-Chennai and Taj Fisherman's Cove Resort & Spa-Chennai, and long tenure lease hold assets including Taj Malabar Resort & Spa-Cochin. The merger will unlock the full potential of OHL's iconic assets while leveraging IHCL's strong balance sheet for strategic investments.
