Buzz: Birla-Bajaj's new bond; unicorn fights back | Economic Times

ET’s weekly roundup of the wackiest whispers and murmurs in corporate corridors & policy parlours:Smart MovesThe big corporate houses, from Aditya Birla to Tata, Reliance or JSW, all have a mini investment bank within the organization filled with ace rainmakers. The latest to make that career shift is adventure-loving, biker-banker Karan Suri who is all set to join his former Morgan Stanley and Rothschild mate Anshuman Thakur at Reliance Industries, a little bird tells us. We saw Thakur working closely with Manoj Modi to raise mega bucks last year for Jio Platforms and Reliance Retail. We wonder if Suri would do a repeat in the energy sector, his speciality after successfully SPAC-ing, sorry De-SPACing ReNew Power in the US. Mukesh Ambani is very clear that he wants to steer RIL towards clean energy, hydrogen and carbon neutrality. We are waiting for the next round of action.The Yield CurveThis unicorn founder is notorious for being daring, often foolhardy. Perhaps you can argue that’s the trait of a true maverick. In yet another example, his firm that just emerged from the jaws of death on account of heady expansion and Covid, is exploring a highyield dollar bond — the first by a desi startup — to leverage the liquidity deluge. A topnotch Wall Street bank has even tapped potential investors to see if the moneybags are buying the story. Now we know why its glib-talking boss has been on an interview spree to say his company is on the path to resurgence.Under a ShadowIs this much-anticipated IPO in a bit of a spot? If the buzz around Deal Street is to be believed, then the market regulator is said to have sought clarifications that might delay the timeline. The new owners, a bulge-bracket PE fund, have to explain why and how this company, formerly subsidiary of a controversial financial services firm that’s facing allegations of corruption and fraud, has remained insulated. The worry is over whether the sale to the fund could get reversed.Strategic AlliancesTwo of India’s premier Marwari business families – Birla and Bajaj – are coming together yet again, further cementing their bond. Nope, we’re not talking a business alliance but a matrimonial one. We all know Kumarmangalam Birla’s sister Vasavdutta is married to sugar baron Kushagra Bajaj, son of Rahul Bajaj’s brother Shishir. Last week, Kushagra’s brother Apoorva got hitched to Delhibased SK ‘Digjam’ Birla’s granddaughter.Lambs to the SlaughterPosting your holiday pics on social media can be a doubleedged sword. This poor banker finally got some time out to be a beach bum but it turns out his absence made one of his clients see red. You see, an institutional fundraise was in the works and presentations had to be made but both the senior banker and his director were out of town at that point. A visibly livid MD, a banker himself, decided to take matters into his own hands to finish his own company’s presentation, working till midnight, just before the roadshows were to kick off. We learn a hapless associate was sent for the slaughter.