MC Insider | Power play on, unicorn stumbles and hedge fund folds!

MC Insider has learnt that a significant shareholder in a storied business group has flagged concerns over the prolonged delay in listing the group’s parent - concerns that have now been escalated to the highest echelons of power. A source tells us that the shareholder group has sought urgent intervention, claiming that several group companies of the conglomerate, which hold shares in the parent, are being disadvantaged. Minority shareholders, they argue, are being denied the opportunity to exit. While it’s unclear whether the powers that be have responded, the suspense around a potential listing continues to grow.

An EV unicorn’s IPO pitch is hitting some static, not just over valuations, but egos and equity. The mood in the market isn’t exactly IPO-friendly, especially for new-age businesses where value is mostly "projected" (read: politely imagined). But this one's different. The founders aren’t just fighting for a rich valuation—they’re fighting to stay undiluted. Private equity and ventures pricing deals are tricky – the price paid by the next buyer determines how much equity you bought (in other words the price you paid for a deal – the value remaining the constant). Go below a certain number, and their holding thins out faster than EV range in hill traffic. Interestingly, when sensitised to this imperative, one big domestic institution, while passing on the pricing, went a step ahead to ask the founder to renegotiate terms with the selling shareholders for the institution not only wants a lower price but equally, a higher skin-in-the-game.

If there was ever a moment for a long-short fund to shine, it’s now. But one early player in that game has taken the opposite route—quietly folded the fund and handed the money back.

Why? Not the market. It was the case of something lost in on all sides – Longs, Shorts and tax translations. And then, just good ol’ team drama played out, with everyone from the fund manager to the CEO walking out. The promoters, who are busier than ever in getting the entire firm off their back, didn’t blink—just pulled the plug. In true “less is more” spirit, they returned the money in the hedge strategies to investors and decided to pivot to launch a plain-vanilla long-only fund, helmed by the broking CEO they’d absorbed a few years ago. Moral of the story? It’s not always the market that gets tired. Sometimes it’s the people.