Stocks to watch, August 26: Varun Beverages, Groww, Welspun Corp, Hindustan Copper, Emami, Cyient

The domestic stock market is expected to open higher on Wednesday, August 26. The GIFT NIFTY futures suggest that the NIFTY50 index will open 88 points higher.

The company will set up a new subsidiary, “KIVA Spirits and Company”, to enter the ready-to-drink (RTD) alcoholic beverages business and has appointed former Diageo executive Prathmesh Mishra as its chief executive officer and managing director.

The board of the company, at its meeting held on Tuesday, approved “to incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary company in India, inter alia to carry on the business of ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages and allied products, subject to receipt of applicable requisite approvals”.

It also approved the appointment of Mishra as the CEO and MD of the wholly-owned subsidiary company, which is being incorporated to undertake the company’s diversification into RTD, alcoholic beverages and allied products, it said.

The offer price has been set at ₹2,250 per share, implying a discount of up to 4.1% to the prevailing market price, with the transaction valued at around ₹1,418 crore ($149 million).

The shares offered in the deal will be subject to a 90-day lock-up period.

The offer has a floor price of ₹195 per share, with the transaction valued at approximately ₹1,915 crore.

Ribbit Capital has been an early investor in Groww and has previously monetised part of its stake, making the latest deal another instance of an early investor reducing its holding.

Addressing shareholders at the AGM of the company, Founder and Non-Executive Chairman S Goenka said that favourable monsoon conditions, improving agricultural output and rising affordability are reviving rural consumption, a key market for the FMCG major.

"A substantial part of Emami's business is linked to rural India, where our brands carry decades of trust and reach. As rural purchasing power recovers and GST rationalisation widens access to organised categories, we believe Emami is structurally positioned to capture a disproportionate share of that recovery," Goenka said.

Anil Chadha, Managing Director, ITC Hotels Limited, said, "Swaraj Deep (Havelock Island) has emerged as one of India's most sought-after leisure destinations, drawing travellers with its unparalleled natural beauty and distinctive experiences. The signing of Storii Havelock reflects our strategy of expanding across high-potential leisure markets through properties that are rooted in their surroundings. We look forward to introducing the Storii brand to the Andaman & Nicobar Islands."

Further, CARE Ratings Limited has upgraded its ratings from “CARE A+; Positive” to “CARE AA-; Stable” for the long-term bank facilities availed/to be availed by the company and has reaffirmed its rating of “CARE A1+” for the short-term bank facilities availed by the company.

The US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) conducted a follow-up current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) inspection at the company’s manufacturing facility at Pithampur from August 17-25, 2026, Cipla said in a regulatory filing.

"On conclusion of the inspection, the company received seven inspectional observations in Form 483," it added.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Form 483 is issued to a firm's management at the conclusion of an inspection when the investigator has observed any conditions that may constitute violations of the Food Drug and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act and related Acts.

Cipla further said it will work closely with the USFDA and is committed to addressing these comprehensively within the stipulated time.

The OFS was oversubscribed 3.41 times by institutional investors, who bid for over 8.91 crore shares against the 2.61 crore shares reserved for them.

The government is offering up to 5.80 crore shares, or 6% stake including the green-shoe option, at a floor price of ₹514 per share.

Meanwhile, copper prices have surged to a record high, providing an additional positive backdrop for the state-owned copper producer.

The approval came after Hyderabad-based Cyient Ltd, in May this year, announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire TAO Digital Solutions Inc, an AI-native data and product engineering solutions firm headquartered in Santa Clara, California.

"The proposed combination envisages the acquisition of 100% of the share capital from the existing shareholders of TAO Digital Solutions Inc (target), by Cyient Ltd (acquirer)," the regulator said in a release.

The plan, discussed at the National Shipping Board’s (NSB) first ‘Sagar Samvad’ event on Tuesday, is part of a broader five-pillar roadmap aimed at making Indian-flagged shipping more competitive and helping the country emerge as one of the world’s top five ship-owning nations by 2047.