A face-off between India’s two richest men, the Ambani siblings, overshadowed Anil Ambani’s negotiations South Africa’s MTN Group to create a global company before his estranged big brother Mukesh.
Anil’s Reliance Communications and MTN called off on Friday their exclusive talks to create a top-10 global telecom firm, saying legal and regulatory issues meant they were unable to conclude a deal.
The talks were clouded by a claim to a right of first refusal on the Indian mobile carrier’s shares by Mukesh, who runs Reliance Industries, India’s largest firm, and who had started dispute proceedings over the issue.
Anil, listed by Forbes magazine as the world’s sixth-richest man, one place behind Mukesh, has clashed with his brother before over business interests.
Now 49, Anil established the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) in 2005 after a public feud with Mukesh saw the vast business empire founded by father Dhirubhai, a school teacher’s son, split between the siblings in a deal brokered by their mother.
Mukesh took control of oil and petrochemicals giant Reliance Industries, India’s most valuable firm, and has since made forays into retail, while ADAG took on financial services, infrastructure, entertainment and power.
Reliance Communications, valued at about $21 billion, has made several overseas acquisitions.
But last year it lost a bid for control of a smaller Indian rival to Vodafone, and in November it was beaten by France Telecom in bidding for Telkom Kenya.
In January, it took just a minute for investors to fully subscribe to Reliance Power’s $3 billion IPO, India’s biggest, testimony to the strength of the Reliance brand.
SHARP CONTRAST
Anil, who has a business degree from Wharton, joined the Reliance group in 1983 as co-chief executive. He is a deeply religious Hindu who often visits temples before the start of new ventures, sometimes accompanied by his mother.
Married to a former Bollywood actress, Anil is articulate and a sharp dresser, with a penchant for designer labels and hi-tech gadgets. He was elected an independent member for a six-year term in Rajya Sabha, and resigned in March 2006.
A vegetarian who does not drink or smoke, he was named an MTV Youth Icon and has been dubbed "Marathon Man" because he participates in the annual Mumbai run and jogs the streets near his plush home in the mornings wearing his trademark headband.
Once a fixture on the Bollywood party circuit, Anil has kept a low profile since the split, focusing on building his business.
By contrast, Mukesh has appeared in the tabloids more often recently, thanks to a luxury jet he is reported to have bought as a birthday gift for his wife with showers and a bar, and a 27-storey home he is building in south Mumbai for a cool $1 billion, with several levels of parking and a helipad.
A chemical engineer by training, he dropped out of an MBA from Stanford University where he was a classmate of Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. He is now a member on its advisory council.
Mukesh, who joined Reliance in 1981, is credited with spearheading the foray of the textile major into petrochemicals, refining and oil and gas exploration and production. He also created Reliance Infocomm, known now as Reliance Communications, the company Anil heads.
Mukesh has a venture with Marks & Spencer for retail, and is awaiting the commissioning of a new 580,000 barrel a day refinery, the world’s biggest, in western Gujarat state.
Bearing a close resemblance to his father, Mukesh in January paid more than $100 million -- the highest sum -- for a cricket franchise in Mumbai that included star batsman Sachin Tendulkar.
Mukesh was spotted in the stands often with his family and friends from the business and entertainment fraternity, cheering the Mumbai Indians team, which finished in the middle of the league.
No comments:
Post a Comment