Brands
Biocon raises Rs 4,500 crore via QIP, its first equity fundraise since 2004 IPO
MUMBAI: If the stock market had a hall of fame for patience, Biocon would deserve a shiny plaque. After two decades since its IPO debut in 2004, the Bengaluru-based biopharma giant returned to the equity markets, raising Rs 4,500 crore through a qualified institutions placement (QIP) that closed on 19 June 2025.
The fundraise saw 13,63,63,635 equity shares priced at Rs 330 each (face value Rs 5, including a premium of Rs 325), and attracted a swarm of top-tier investors. The final orderbook featured heavyweights like SBI Mutual Fund, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund, HDFC Life Insurance, Nippon India Mutual Fund, Mirae Asset, Aditya Birla Mutual Fund, Franklin Templeton, SBI General Insurance, Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global, and Blackrock.
“The strong response to our QIP reflects deep investor conviction in Biocon’s differentiated strategy and consistent execution”, said MD & CEO Siddharth Mittal. “This capital raise further strengthens our balance sheet, enabling us to invest in innovation, expand global access to lifesaving biopharmaceuticals, and advance our purpose of delivering affordable healthcare solutions”.
Biocon plans to channel the proceeds towards multiple priorities: acquiring outstanding optionally convertible debentures issued by Biocon Biologics Ltd to Goldman Sachs’ India AIFs, repaying and prepaying select financial instruments and borrowings, and covering other corporate obligations.
This marks Biocon’s first equity fundraise in 21 years, and it didn’t disappoint. Backed by a diverse mix of domestic mutual funds, insurance firms and foreign institutional investors, the transaction not only widened the company’s investor base but also reinforced trust in its long-term business vision.
With shareholder approval secured via postal ballot on 4 June 2025, the QIP positions Biocon for its next growth sprint. Post-issue, the promoter and promoter group’s shareholding stands at 54.45 per cent.
Kotak Mahindra Capital, BofA Securities India and Goldman Sachs India served as book running lead managers. Legal counsel included JSA Advocates & Solicitors for Biocon, and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Linklaters Singapore for the lead managers.
Brands
E-commerce growth rises, but profits come under pressure
Shop Culture flags rising costs, weak systems and a $5.38 billion quick-commerce boom reshaping global retail
MUMBAI: E-commerce is booming, but profits are thinning. A new report by Shop Culture warns that brands clinging to outdated, growth-at-all-costs strategies are being outpaced in a costlier, more complex 2025 landscape.
Global online retail is expected to cross $6.86 trillion this year, with 2.77 billion shoppers making at least one purchase. Yet returns are under strain: average return on ad spend has slipped to 2.87:1, exposing cracks in how brands chase scale without building sustainable margins.
Three shifts are rewriting the rules. First, retail media is getting pricier, with Amazon’s average cost per click rising 15.5 per cent year-on-year to $1.12. Second, while 77 per cent of e-commerce professionals now use AI daily, many see limited gains as weak systems blunt its impact. Third, geography is no longer expansion, it is strategy. The share of Shop Culture clients operating across multiple markets has more than doubled, from 30 per cent in 2024 to 65 per cent in 2025.
Subarna Mukherjee, founder and ceo, Shop Culture, is blunt: “The e-commerce industry has a nostalgia problem. In 2022, the playbook was simple: list aggressively, spend on ads, and ride the wave of post-pandemic digital adoption. It worked. Revenue grew rapidly. But by 2025, the industry is seeing the consequences of those structural shortcuts. E-commerce itself is not slowing down, the challenge lies in how brands are operating within it.”
Nowhere is the shift sharper than in India’s quick-commerce boom. The segment is set to hit $5.38 billion in 2025, growing 17 per cent and emerging as the fastest-growing globally. What began as a convenience play is fast becoming a margin buffer. In one case, quick commerce drove 70 per cent of a packaged food brand’s online revenue, delivering 130 per cent year-on-year growth. A beauty brand, meanwhile, saw selling prices rise 25 per cent higher than on traditional marketplaces.
Expansion, too, is being rethought. The report argues that brands chasing the largest markets first often stumble. Better outcomes come from sequencing entries based on efficiency, regulatory readiness and competition, with markets such as the UK and Germany offering smarter entry points than the United States.
Compliance has turned from a checkbox into a revenue lever, especially in Europe. Brands with ready frameworks can go live in 8 to 12 weeks, while others risk delays of six months or more due to listing and documentation hurdles.
AI, for all the hype, is no silver bullet. Across more than 1,500 listings, it improved conversion rates by 10 to 15 per cent, cut TACOS by 7 to 10 per cent and reduced stockouts by 20 per cent, but only when layered on strong foundations. As Mukherjee puts it: “AI is not a growth strategy, it is an amplifier. It enhances strong systems and exposes weak ones.”
The message for 2026 is stark. Growth alone will not save brands. Margins, discipline and smarter strategy will. In a market still expanding at breakneck speed, the real race is no longer for scale, it is for survival.
