A surging Indian business sector is shattering longstanding industry norms. In pharma, two Indian companies are in the bidding for a large German pharmaceutical (thanks, Sindhya):
The country’s largest pharmaceutical company, Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd, is believed to have put in a bid of 500 million (approximately Rs 2,800 crore) for Germany’s fourth largest generic company, Betapharm… This is 50 million more than the bid of 450 million made by Dr Reddy’s Laboratories…
Industry analysts said it was for the first time that two Indian companies had emerged front-runners for a high-value overseas pharmaceutical company. If the deal materialises, it would be the largest ever overseas acquisition by an Indian company in the pharmaceutical space. [Link]
In Bombay, a matrimonial site is rumored to have been funded by one of Silicon Valley’s toniest VCs, Kleiner Perkins (via Om):
InfoEdge, which owns which owns some of India’s hottest Internet properties including the largest job portal Naukri.com… and matrimonial site Jeevan Sathi has got funding from KPCB and Ram Shriram of Sherpalo Ventures. InfoEdge did $10 million last year with profits of $1.8M. [Link]
In France, a Mittal Steel acquisition target has resorted to complaining about family governance, even though such arrangements are commonplace. Mittal Steel is not an Indian company, but as Vinod posted, Arcelor is trying to make the hostile takeover a referendum on the Mittal family:
… Dollé [CEO of Arcelor] quipped: “My son is not on the management board.” Arcelor’s chief was making a not-so-subtle reference to the fact that… the CEO’s son, 30-year-old Aditya, serves in the key posts of president and chief financial officer.
[An industry source] adds that while Aditya, who holds an undergraduate degree from Wharton, is sharp, it’s the father who “has the strategic vision…” Still, Aditya is not just another spoiled rich kid. He has been a key player at his father’s company since joining in 1997. He orchestrated its initial public offering that year and has worked on many acquisitions, including the $4.5 billion purchase of International Steel Group… That deal transformed Mittal into the world’s largest steelmaker and boosted the family’s fortune to some $20 billion…
Lakshmi, 55, has the entrepreneurial flair and the deep, hands-on knowledge of steel. Aditya is the number cruncher who’s more comfortable with bankers and investors. “It’s a very impressive double act,” says someone familiar with the Arcelor deal. [Link]
Mittal is already a huge force in U.S. steel:
The emergence of Lakshmi Mittal marks the fourth time in U.S. history [Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Charles Schwab] that a single businessman has become the kingpin of American steel… Mittal will be the first non-U.S. citizen to exert such marketplace clout… Mittal Steel will assume ownership this year of four of the five major steel plants on the Great Lakes… Mittal Steel will own 40 percent of domestic production of flat-rolled steel — the most common material used in automobiles and appliances… [Link]
With the extra cash, Mittal retreated to the usual place where billionaires go to play: sports.
The London-based businessman pledged a whopping Rs 40 crore to the Mittal Champions Trust… it aims to put Indians on the sporting map of the world.
The need for doing more for Indian sport struck the world’s richest Indian when he witnessed the Athens Olympics. He was moved by the inspiring performances, but disappointed that India came back with only one medal — shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore’s silver. [Link]
