Welcome to Top of the Morning by Mint, your weekday newscast that brings you five major stories from the world of business. It's Thursday, February 29, 2024. Happy Leap day to all our listeners. My name is Nelson John. Let's get started:

Bears went loose on the D-street on Wednesday with benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty seeing a crash. Dragged down by the Midcap and Smallcap indices, both Sensex and Nifty were down more than one per cent at close, falling below the psychological levels of 73 thousand and 22 thousand respectively.

As the February derivatives approached their expiry, the border markets corrected themselves on Wednesday amid stretched valuations. small and midcap companies bore the brunt of the crash. This is after Sebi asked mutual funds investing in these companies to disclose more information about the risks involved. A senior mutual fund executive confirmed to Mint’s market correspondent Ram Sahgal, that the fund had shared information about handling a stress situation with Sebi. The market regulator had been in discussions with mutual funds about excessive inflow of cash into smaller companies. Coinciding with this, Kotak Mutual fund has capped the lump sum inflows to its small cap fund at 2 lakh rupees per PAN per month and SIP inflows to 25,000 rupees per PAN per month.

https://blankpaper.htdigital.in/dash/story/11709128654894

“If you want to be a millionaire, start with a billion dollars and launch a new airline,” if this quote by Virgin Atlantic airline’s founder Richard Branson does not tell you enough about the risks of airline business, today’s Mint Primer, definitely will. For an airline business to be revived, a lot of factors need to align, it is no easy feat. Profitable carriers rely on a mix of factors: from favourable fuel prices and suitable aircraft, to reliable maintenance contracts, extensive networks, prime airport slots, and a skilled workforce. In India especially, the action plan to get the planes back on the tarmac, requires a hawk-eye over costs and proactive management. What’s also crucial is support from vendors, engine lessors and maintenance companies. With SpiceJet’s boss Ajay Singh making a bid,, Mint’s aviation reporter Anu Sharma explains the future prospects of Go First, the bankrupt airline that was launched by the Wadias.. Interestingly, the only revival story in the aviation industry over the last three decades is that of SpiceJet, which got a second lease of life in December 2014.

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/reviving-go-first-won-t-be-easy-here-s-why-11709133529363.html

News from the edtech sector has been very bad lately.. But PhysicsWallah stands as an exception. The unicorn startup, which raised 100 million dollars at a valuation of more than a billion dollars from Westbridge capital in 2022, has been profitable for the last three years. In an interview to Mint’s new economy reporter Sneha Shah, Physicswallah’s cofounder Prateek Maheshwari said the company is considering making more acquisitions in the future. The company has set aside a corpus of 100 million dollars for acquisitions and other inorganic deals, of which 60 million is from its last fund raise. The company, according to Maheshwari, is a cash generating one, unlike startups which took the cash-burning route. Physicswallah’s is expected to close this fiscal with a revenue of 2000 crore rupees, a growth of 150 percent over last year.. The edtech is now in need of new growth areas. According to Maheshwari’s plan for the company, physical centres will form a significant part of its expansion strategy. The company, which started as a YouTube channel, was entirely bootstrapped before the fund infusion by Westbridge, which was also joined by GSV ventures. Interestingly the founders still hold 91 per cent of the company.

https://www.livemint.com/news/we-will-raise-more-capital-if-an-interesting-acquisition-comes-up-11709128788045.html

Private equity fund Kedaara Capital is on the verge of a milestone achievement in the Indian context. According to a Reuters report,Kedaara is set to raise 1.7 billion dollars for its fourth private equity fund. The new fund will see about 80 per cent coming from existing investors. New investors including the US-based Cleveland Clinic and the University of Minnesota, will infuse the rest. The upcoming fund is poised to venture into various sectors, including banking, healthcare, consumer goods, and software. Kedaara plans to unveil the fund by the end of March, with final paperwork currently in the works. While investors expressed interest in committing over 2 billion dollars, Kedaara opted to cap the fund at 1.7 billion dollars, mindful of maintaining its deployment capabilities.

https://www.livemint.com/videos/companies/kedaara-close-to-raising-1-7-billion-for-indias-biggest-pe-fund-sources-say-11709134679257.html

Reliance and Disney disclosed the details of their merger to create a sports and entertainment juggernaut. The newly formed media behemoth will look to take on streaming giants Netflix and Amazon in the rapidly growing Indian streaming market. Reliance will also invest 11 thousand 500 crore rupees into the joint venture between its subsidiary Viacom 18 and Disney’s Star India. On a post-money basis, the combined entity will be valued at more than 70 thousand crore rupees. That’s close to 844 million dollars. The new joint venture will see Nita Ambani as the chairperson, while former Star India executive Uday Shankar will be the vice chairperson. With a 55 to 60 per cent shareholding, Reliance will have a controlling stake in the company. The merged entity will unite media assets spanning entertainment channels - including Colors, Star Plus, Star GOLD and sports channels like Star Sports and Sports18, along with content streaming on JioCinema and Hotstar. This collaboration is expected to reach over 750 million viewers in India. Additionally, the entity will gain exclusive distribution rights for Disney films and productions in India, encompassing over 30,000 Disney content assets. Mint’s entertainment and media correspondents Lata Jha and Gaurav Laghate bring to you the details on this much anticipated marriage of the two media giants.

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/reliancedisney-india-sign-binding-agreement-to-merge-media-operations-nita-ambani-to-chair-merged-entity-11709126952804.html

We'd love to hear your feedback on this podcast. Let us know by writing to us at feedback@livemint.com. You may send us feedback, tips or anything that you feel we should be covering from your vantage point in the world of business and finance.

Show notes:

Small-caps sneeze, markets catch a cold

Reviving Go First won’t be easy. Here’s why

Will raise more capital if an interesting acquisition comes up: Physics Wallah

Kedaara close to raising $1.7 billion for India's biggest PE fund, sources say

Media empire takes shape, with Reliance-Disney at helm