Manu Chhabria (1946-2002)

A few days before Manohar Rajaram Chhabria's heart stopped, a rather unlikely visitor came calling at Mumbai's Jaslok Hospital: arch-rival Vijay Mallya. Some 48 hours after the sudden end on April 6, 2002-20 days after the 56-year-old chairman of the $1.5 billion Jumbo group of companies had undergone bypass surgery-one family member was still inconsolable: brother Kishore Chhabria, who had acrimoniously parted ways with his 56-year-old brother a decade ago, and shifted to the rival camp.

When hell's grim tyrant strikes, worldly fights and foes are packed off into insignificance. Mallya of course had no inkling that Chhabria was at death's door, but that's fate at its trickiest best. As for the two brothers, they did begin meeting each other once again over the past year, but with the elder Chhabria's demise, the opportunity to bury the axe on the business front has also passed away.

Think about Chhabria the chairman and the first images that come to mind are uncharitable: a corporate raider who destroyed value in the companies he acquired; a CEO who just couldn't hold on to his best people; and a man who for the best part of his career was invariably on the wrong side of the law. That's the clichéd image of the former liquor baron.

But give it some more thought, and one conclusion you could reach is that perhaps Chhabria was in the right place at the wrong time. After building his consumer electronics trading business in Dubai from scratch, the non-resident Indian landed on Indian shores in the early eighties with a gameplan that may not look remarkable today, but was pretty far-reaching in the pre-liberalisation era: he sought to build an empire inorganically, by taking over companies operating in diverse businesses, right from Shaw Wallace to Dunlop to Gordon Woodroffe to Mather & Platt. He even made a play for Larsen & Toubro that didn't pan out.

In the eighties, when the final traces of Nehruvian socialism were still visible, Chhabria was looked upon as an asset-stripping barbarian. Wealth was still a dirty word in those days when takeover artistes were looked at as plunderers in pin stripes. The Jumbo group chairman didn't make it any easy on himself by flaunting his wealth and making provocative comments in the media. Inevitably, charges of money-siphoning (which many consider a given in the liquor industry) and violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act were slapped on Chhabria, forcing him to flee to Dubai, the city where he built his trading empire.

The biggest tragedy for Chhabria was that at a time when Indian industry was finally being liberalised, he wasn't there to partake in the benefits. At a time when acquisitions were looked on as a surefire strategy to enhance shareholder value, Chhabria had little choice but to run his companies via remote control. Those who've worked with him point out that Chhabria was pretty disillusioned with India, and was content focusing largely on his overseas trading business. For Dubai gave him something that he could never get in India: respect.

He did come back, once the numerous cases against him were quashed, and the 200-odd winding-up petitions filed against Shaw Wallace, thrown out. Dunlop though is still in the doldrums and the other companies don't merit a mention in the top bracket. Chhabria won't be remembered as one of India's leading corporate achievers. What won't be forgotten is that he never stopped trying.

-Brian Carvalho

ENTERTAINMENT
Rathikant Basu's 'Eternal Dreams'
Broadcast Worldwide's TARA gets a new lease on life. Will it be second time lucky?

Rathikant Basu: Tie-up or sell-out?

Barely two years into its television aimed at Regional Audiences (TARA) project, which saw the launch of four TARA channels in Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati, and Punjabi in quick succession, Rathikant Basu (the ex-CEO of star in India) -promoted Broadcast Worldwide is desperately seeking ways to keep its pet project afloat.

Eternal Dreams, a company promoted by ex-Channel Nine honcho Sapna Chaturvedi, claims to be behind the mid-March re-launch of TARA Marathi, complete with a new logo, graphics and host of original programming for the ailing channel, even though Rathikant Basu, Chairman & CEO, Broadcast Worldwide, maintains that, ''None of the TARA channels has been licensed to Eternal Dreams, only the Marathi library.'' And that it only has a programming and airtime deal with Eternal Dreams, much like the content arrangement for its flagship TARA Bangla channel with Kolkata-based production house, Rainbow Productions.

The confusion over management control of TARA Marathi notwithstanding, Eternal Dreams seems to have grand plans for the channel. ''In three months we intend making it the number one channel in all of Maharashtra, barring Mumbai,'' says Chaturvedi, Chairperson and Managing Director of Eternal Dreams.

A Marathi language copy-cat in Star Plus, with talk-shows, celebrity-led programmes, weekend back-to-back blockbuster Marathi movies, even news synopsis a la Star Plus's Aaj Ki Baat, the new TARA Marathi looks all set to give, perhaps for the first time, a serious run to the leading Marathi channel from Zee stable, Alpha Marathi, for the Rs 30-crore ad market.

"Even though commonsense dictates that there should be a market in every state with its own language, with Maharashtra there is a very good overlap from Hindi channels,'' explains C.V.L. Srinivas, coo (North & South) Madison Communications. Eternal counters that it already has big-ticket advertisers in Johnson & Johnson, Cadbury, Marico Industries, Dr Morepen, Nirma and Wipro hitching onto the new TARA Marathi. And if it works, Chaturvedi promises a similar do with the two other off-air TARA channels, Gujarati and Punjabi. Stuff of dreams?

-Shailesh Dobhal

M&A
Is Sterlite Stretching Itself Thin?
In the recent months, Anil Agarwal has made two big acquisitions, and he is hungry for more. But Sterlite's borrowings could lead to some indigestion.

Anil Agarwal: The would-be metal king

Anil Agarwal likes things big. Be it his car or companies. Last month the chairman of Sterlite Industries snagged a 26 per cent stake in state-owned Hindustan Zinc Ltd (HZL) for Rs 445 crore. Only last year, Agarwal had acquired-with much difficulty-a majority 51 per cent stake in another public sector enterprise, Bharat Aluminium Company (Balco), for Rs 552. And now he is reported to be eyeing Hindustan Copper and National Aluminium, two other state enterprises up for sale.

These acquisitions will help Agarwal's Rs 6,000-crore group stride towards his dream of becoming the metal king of India. But the question is: can Sterlite afford these acquisitions and if yes, at what cost? The HZL deal alone will end up costing Sterlite Rs 800 crore. If he were to get Hindustan Copper and Nalco as well, that will mean another Rs 5,500 crore in investment. So, by the time Agarwal stops his shopping spree, he could have run up a bill of Rs 7,000 crore.

Can Sterlite's balance sheet take the strain? Consider its financials: In 2000-01, the company generated Rs 335.53 crore in cash flows. Its net worth of Rs 1,695 crore and debt of Rs 1,246 crore makes for a debt-equity ratio of 0.74:1. Add to that the cash flows of Sterlite Optical (Rs 339 crore) and debt-equity ratio of 0:83:1. Funding the acquisitions one part through internal accruals, another part through debt, and yet another part from Sterlite Optical won't-most analysts believe-put pressure on the balance sheet.

However, acquiring a strategic stake in Nalco, when it is put on the block by the government, is critical for the group to consolidate its non-ferrous metals growth strategy. That would mean forking out Rs 4,000-4,750 crore. And if that sale happens in the next one year, Sterlite would be hard-pressed to rustle up the funds.

-Roshni Jayakar

Ravina Kohli

MOVEMENT
Nine Lives?
Former Channel Nine head honcho Ravina Raj Kohli is all set to join Star TV. What happens to her own firm?

There can't be too many head honchos in media and entertainment who can claim to have worked for both Kerry Packer and Rupert Murdoch. But you could trust Ravina Raj Kohli to pull off the extraordinary. The former programming head at Sony Entertainment and former CEO of Packer's now defunct Channel Nine in India, was all set to sign on with Murdoch's Star India as President of news and current affairs last fortnight. This comes on the heels of Star's decision to terminate its contract with NDTV post-February 28, 2003, when it comes up for renewal.

Ever since last fortnight, when a Mumbai-based socialite hack rather convolutedly let on that Kohli was hopping onto the Star wagon, the buzz has intensified, although Star had yet to make an official announcement at the time of writing (Kohli for her part was unavailable for comment). Industry observers reveal that Kohli's lack of experience in news and current affairs isn't relevant. ''She's run a channel before, and that's what matters. Her job will be to hire the right people,'' points out a senior executive at a production house. Sources add that the parting of ways with NDTV doesn't mean that Star will have nothing to do with Prannoy Roy's media house in future.

Indeed, the options for Star, which may even end up having two news channels (one English, one Hindi), are many: the most obvious is that it may decide to build a full-fledged content team inhouse, preferring to have control over quality and editorial decisions. The other option would be to outsource the content, either from a production house, or from a number of them. Yet another way to go about it would be to have a combination of inhouse production and outsourcing. Whatever the decision, it will be Kohli who will make it.

However, industry observers are now wondering what will happen to the company Kohli floated early this year, Sundial Communications. Star officials are tightlipped, but it's unlikely that the Murdoch company will allow Kohli to focus on that project too. A couple of months ago, Sundial was reportedly appointed a creative consultant for Sony Music. Whilst that contract may have little to do with news and current affairs, Star's India CEO Peter Mukerjea clearly would want Kohli to focus on his channel and little else.

-Brian Carvalho

BEER BATTLES
SAB Takes On UB
With a war chest of Rs 600 crore, SAB looks at delivering a ''Knock Out'' to its rivals.

Richard Rushton: The inorganic way

Probably it is the heat. Even as Pepsi and Coke slug it out in the marketplace, another battle is brewing between beer giant, United Breweries and South African Breweries (SAB) India, a 60 per cent subsidiary of $4.2 billion SAB Plc, the third largest brewer in the world.

SAB, which entered the Indian market just 18 months back, has strung up four acquisitions in this short span for Rs 150 crore: Narang, Pals, Rochees, and Mysore Breweries. ''In 21 of the 24 markets we are present, we are No.1 or No. 2. Our intention is to become the market leader in India also,'' says Richard Rushton, Managing Director, SAB India, who clearly sees scope for inorganic growth.

Ravi Nedungadi, President of UB-which recently picked up GMR breweries-points out that UB either owns or has a tie-up with nearly 27 of the 59 breweries. Rushton is nonchalant: ''Only 65 per cent of the total brewing capacity is being utilised by the industry. Also in several of these cases, UB has only bottling arrangements."

Though it has strong regional brands, SAB does not have a single pan-Indian brand (like, say, UB's Kingfisher)-a defect, which it is trying to rectify through the launch of Castle Lager and relaunch of Knock Out. UB, beware.

-Venkatesha Babu