08/04/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | APR 8, 2026

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Pershing Square proposes deal worth €55.75 billion

Record monthly outflows from India’s financials

deepen market slide MUMBAI: Record foreign outflows from India’s financial stocks in March underscored a deepening retreat by overseas investors, as fears over fallout from the Iran war on economic growth and earnings compounded pressure on Indian equities and the rupee. Foreign portfolio investors sold 606.55 billion rupees (RM26.3 billion) of financial stocks in March, the highest on record and more than half of the total US$12.66 billion (RM51 billion) pulled from Indian markets, according to National Securities Depository data released yesterday. Financials, banks, private lenders and state owned banks fell 15.5%-20%, dragging the benchmark Nifty 50 index 11.3% lower to its worst monthly performance in six years. Top private lender HDFC Bank slid 17.6% in March, after the surprise exit of its part-time chairman. Concerns over potential losses due to the central bank’s decision on March 27 to tighten position limits on forex exposure also intensified foreign outflows, two analysts said. FPI selling in Indian markets hit a record high of US$19.69 billion in the financial year 2026, which ended last month, leaving the Nifty 50 with its weakest fiscal year showing in six years. The prospect of domestic institutional investors – who have been the market’s shock absorbers against volatile foreign flows – potentially losing their firepower is now further unsettling market participants. “We are now seeing the first signs of depletion in the resources of DIIs after 18 months of fighting this battle of equity flows,” said analysts led by Vikash Kumar Jain of CLSA yesterday. CLSA said cash held by equity mutual funds stood at 1.78 trillion rupees at the end of February 2026, down 24% from April 2025.

would be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Talent agent and former Walt Disney Company president Michael Ovitz would join the UMG board as chairman, Pershing Square said. Pershing Square said that under the transaction UMG shareholders would receive a total of €9.4 billion in cash and 0.77 shares in Nevada for every share held in UMG. The cash portion of the new proposed deal would be funded by Pershing from its SPARC’s rights holders, debt, and net proceeds from the company’s stake in Spotify, it said. Bollore Group did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Vivendi, which is UMG’s second-largest shareholder, did not comment on the proposal. Tencent Holdings, UMG’s third biggest shareholder, did not imme diately respond to a request for a comment. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the year, Pershing Square said. It has a 4.7% stake according to LSEG data, making it UMG’s fourth biggest shareholder. – Reuters

o Bill Ackman’s company plans to merge its acquisition vehicle with Universal Music Group in cash-and-shares transaction, then list new entity in New York

BENGALURU: Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square yesterday proposed merging its acquisition vehicle with Universal Music Group with a plan to list in the United States in a deal aimed at reviving the world’s biggest music label’s value. Pershing Square’s cash-and-shares offer values Universal Music at around €30.40 per share, representing a 78% premium to last close price at €17.10 and making the deal worth €55.75 billion (RM260 billion), according to Reuters calculation. Universal Music Group – the company behind recording artists including Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish and Drake – did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Amsterdam-listed entertainment company’s shares jumped around 13% in the early trading yesterday, while top shareholder Bollore Group’s were up 6%.

Pershing’s move comes after UMG last month delayed a plan for a US listing, walking back on an agreement with Pershing, which had exercised its right to request a US offering and had argued a New York listing would boost UMG’s share price and liquidity. In a letter to UMG directors, Ackman said its management had done an “excellent” job of running a strong business and strategic execution, but its share price has languished since its listing in 2021. He blamed uncertainty over the 18% stake held by Bollore Group, the delay to the planned US listing and under utilisation of its balance sheet, among other things. Under yesterday’s non-binding proposal, Pershing’s SPARC Holdings would merge with UMG and the new entity, to be called Nevada Corporation,

“The market now needs foreign capital back,” the CLSA analysts said, adding that “the set-up of depleted DII reserves and continued (primary market) supply pressures makes the Indian equity market much more dependent on foreign inflows than any time over the past five years to drive up the markets,” CLSA analysts said. – Reuters Air India CEO said to have resigned amid losses and regulatory scrutiny of carrier AirTrunk hires banks for Singapore IPO, say sources SINGAPORE: AirTrunk has appointed banks including Citigroup and DBS for a potential data centre real estate investment trust initial public offering (IPO) in Singapore that could raise more than US$1 billion (RM4.03 billion) later this year, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. IFR reported on Monday that the data centre operator was planning a Singapore listing that could raise up to US$1.5 billion. A deal of that size would be bigger than the IPO of NTT DC REIT, which raised US$773 million in Singapore last year. AirTrunk is backed by US-based investment firm Blackstone. In 2024, Blackstone and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired the company in a deal valuing it at A$24 billion (RM67 billion). AirTrunk has data centres in Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore. Blackstone, Citi and DBS declined to comment. AirTrunk did not respond to a request seeking comment. – Reuters

NEW DELHI: Air India CEO Campbell Wilson has resigned, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said yesterday, as the airline grapples with persistent losses and height-ened regulatory scrutiny following a crash last year that killed 260 people. The news of his resignation comes just days after its bigger rival IndiGo tapped aviation industry veteran Willie Walsh as its next CEO, as the country’s two largest carriers come under pressure to tackle a mounting industry crisis stemming from the Middle East conflict compounded by domestic opera tional challenges. Reuters reported in January that Air India’s board was scouting for a new CEO to replace Wilson, a former Singapore Airlines veteran brought in to steer the Indian carrier’s turnaround in 2022 after years of decline under government ownership. The airline, which is contending with aircraft delivery delays, has also been reprimanded by regulators for safety lapses, including flying an aircraft eight times without an airworthiness certificate and running planes without checking emergency equipment. New Zealand-born Wilson’s term

was due to end in 2027. He is currently serving a six-month notice period and plans to stay with the company until a su ccessor is found, the source said, declining to be identified as they were not authorised to speak with media. Air India did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Wilson’s resignation was reported by Indian publication Mint late on Monday. Since taking over the top job in 2022, Wilson has steered the airline through the early and difficult stages of its turnaround, including overhauling Air India’s engineering department and refurbishing planes amid supply chain disruptions. “Over the last four years, Campbell did a good job in very tough circumstances,” said Brendan Sobie, a Singapore-based inde pendent aviation analyst. “Finding the right candidate to complete (Air India’s) transformation will not be easy and Tata will particularly feel the pressure to get this right following IndiGo’s recent appointment of Willie Walsh,” he said. Air India has a fleet of 191 planes and has placed orders for more than 500 aircraft. – Reuters

Wilson during a groundbreaking ceremony of maintenance, repair and overhaul aircraft facility at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on Sept 4, 2024. Since taking over the top job in 2022, Wilson has steered the airline through the early and difficult stages of its turnaround, including overhauling Air India’s engineering department and refurbishing planes amid supply chain disruptions. – AFPPIC