Barbarians at the gate | Sepia Mutiny

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 Â€500 million (approximately Rs 2,800 crore) for Germany’s fourth largest generic company, Betapharm… This is Â€50 million more than the bid of Â€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:

… DollÃ© [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]

p>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]

p>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]

17 thoughts on “Barbarians at the gate”

Interesting Ranbaxy has gone out of its way and has a British ceo Brian Tempest. Although singh family members do sit on the board of directors. There often is a big deal made about separation of ownership and mangagement it is a valid concern for the other share holders in the firm.

Having never seen “Awara Paagal Deewana” I had no idea that your handle referred to a film character. I had been in the dark all this time.

Having never seen “Awara Paagal Deewana” I had no idea that your handle referred to a film character. I had been in the dark all this time.

Dont bother unless you are drunk it was a sorry ass flick. 1/3rd of my handle is in my name. Thats the name some desi friends gave me, I did watch the movie, It was horrible.

i went through the link on infoedge… it says infoedge had net profits of $1.2m… presumably as of Q4 05. That’s … well… ok.. a little modest. and the blog echoed it… but here’s the kicker… there was a post on that blog that had me shaking my head. in case you missed it…

By the way, Rediff listed in Nasdaq some five years ago. In 2006, the company may close revenues in the range of $26 million. ThatÂ’s no huge sum. Despite that the company is valued in the range of $500 million.

Hmm yahoo finance shows following Market Cap: 709.69M P/E (ttm): N/A EPS (ttm): -0.01 I am very new to this so i may be missing something…. But a missing p/e would mean a loss or is it something else

I am very new to this so i may be missing something…. But a missing p/e would mean a loss or is it something else

A company (Rediff) whose financial data is not properly available on EDGAR online or anyother place and has almost trippled in 6 months is something one must stay away from. Looks like BAIDUto me but without profits.

and matrimonial site Jeevan Sathi has got funding from KPCB and Ram Shriram of Sherpalo Ventures

damn, when is some rich indian going to fund me?

I hope your husband doesn’t read the blog 😉

A surging Indian business sector is shattering longstanding industry norms. In pharma, two Indian companies are in the bidding for a large German pharmaceutical

Quite true, and its not just pharma itself but the pharma-machinery industry is growing. To the best of my knowledge these are just containers that mix stuff, coat pills with sugar etc. There is nothing high-tech about these but the manufacturing process has to be approved by USFDA. (even the mixing bowl has pass some sort of inspection). I saw this in Gujarat. So, US State Department may have blocked `dear leader’ Narendra Modi from coming to USA but US Food and drug administration is frequenting his town.

A company (Rediff) whose financial data is not properly available on EDGAR online or anyother place and has almost trippled in 6 months is something one must stay away from. Looks like BAIDUto me but without profits.

This company was mentioned by epileptic Jim Cramer on his show “Mad Money”, (I was watching a recorded version). The ticker below the screen was updating the REDF which went up by 3-4+ $ by the time the show ended. Jim Cramer described rediff.com as a portal to millions and millions of Indian. :-D.

sonia… i suppose none of these sorryass newbies know what a hubba hubba knockout you are, or you’d be seeing waaaaaaaaay more traffic. do you still have your pix on your web site. 🙂

Rediff had a special about the BSE sensex – it has jumped 3000 pts from 7000 to 10000 in less than a year. I wonder if this is all just a bubble waiting to burst.

All for putting India on the sports map.

Lol, I didn’t realize “fund me” could have so many meanings. Dhaavak, thanks for the additional traffic last night =)

anytime sonia… as they say down home in the pind.. mention not. 🙂

speaking of sending web traffic… guess who’s the latest maxim girl…
Beta, hau ju have grown.
aw! man… i cant play the lech bit. she still looks godawful cute…

fyi… the Indian stock market hit 10,000 yesterday (although it has settled down since). Doubled in less than 2 years! A lot of people are smiling…but not me:( My 401K plan does not have India funds that I can invest in.

M. Nam

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s trade minister on Friday criticized some European governments that oppose Mittal Steel’s bid for rival steel maker Arcelor and warned that their stance could derail continuing global trade talks. Last month, Mittal Steel Co. — the world’s largest steel maker run by Indian-born Lakshi N. Mittal — made an unsolicited bid to buy out European steel maker Arcelor SA, sparking sharp reaction from European officials — with some saying the two companies are ill-matched because of different corporate cultures and values. The governments of Luxembourg and Spain have opposed the euro18.6 billion ($22.5 billion) bid, while several top French officials have criticized the deal, raising fears of job losses in France and elsewhere on the continent. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Friday that the Indian government was concerned over the comments made by European officials. “The government of India is very concerned. We are seeing this with a sense of disappointment,” Nath told The Associated Press. Nath said the Mittal-Arcelor row come at a time when the World Trade Organization is debating liberalization of services trade — an area of vital interest to European companies. The EU is pushing WTO member nations to offer “national treatment” to foreign companies investing the services sector. “If the color of the shareholder, the nationality of the shareholder, or the passport of the shareholder is to be looked at, then we will have to give new definitions to national treatment,” Nath said. He said if the French and the Spanish persisted with their stance on the Mittal-Arcelor issue, it could derail ongoing WTO negotiations, which seek to bring a new global trade treaty by the end of this year.

airbus must be getting its undies in a knot…

Guru Gulab Khatri on February 7, 2006 at 8:13 pm said:

Interesting Ranbaxy has gone out of its way and has a British ceo Brian Tempest. Although singh family members do sit on the board of directors. There often is a big deal made about separation of ownership and mangagement it is a valid concern for the other share holders in the firm.
Ennis on February 7, 2006 at 8:30 pm said:

Having never seen “Awara Paagal Deewana” I had no idea that your handle referred to a film character. I had been in the dark all this time.
Guru Gulab Khatri on February 7, 2006 at 8:37 pm said:

Having never seen “Awara Paagal Deewana” I had no idea that your handle referred to a film character. I had been in the dark all this time.

Dont bother unless you are drunk it was a sorry ass flick. 1/3rd of my handle is in my name. Thats the name some desi friends gave me, I did watch the movie, It was horrible.
dhaavak on February 7, 2006 at 9:26 pm said:

i went through the link on infoedge… it says infoedge had net profits of $1.2m… presumably as of Q4 05. That’s … well… ok.. a little modest. and the blog echoed it… but here’s the kicker… there was a post on that blog that had me shaking my head. in case you missed it…

By the way, Rediff listed in Nasdaq some five years ago. In 2006, the company may close revenues in the range of $26 million. ThatÂ’s no huge sum. Despite that the company is valued in the range of $500 million.
Guru Gulab Khatri on February 7, 2006 at 9:32 pm said:

Hmm yahoo finance shows following Market Cap: 709.69M P/E (ttm): N/A EPS (ttm): -0.01 I am very new to this so i may be missing something…. But a missing p/e would mean a loss or is it something else
RC on February 7, 2006 at 10:27 pm said:

I am very new to this so i may be missing something…. But a missing p/e would mean a loss or is it something else

A company (Rediff) whose financial data is not properly available on EDGAR online or anyother place and has almost trippled in 6 months is something one must stay away from. Looks like BAIDUto me but without profits.
Sonia on February 7, 2006 at 11:34 pm said:

and matrimonial site Jeevan Sathi has got funding from KPCB and Ram Shriram of Sherpalo Ventures

damn, when is some rich indian going to fund me?
Ennis on February 7, 2006 at 11:45 pm said:

I hope your husband doesn’t read the blog 😉
Tom on February 7, 2006 at 11:47 pm said:

A surging Indian business sector is shattering longstanding industry norms. In pharma, two Indian companies are in the bidding for a large German pharmaceutical

Quite true, and its not just pharma itself but the pharma-machinery industry is growing. To the best of my knowledge these are just containers that mix stuff, coat pills with sugar etc. There is nothing high-tech about these but the manufacturing process has to be approved by USFDA. (even the mixing bowl has pass some sort of inspection). I saw this in Gujarat. So, US State Department may have blocked `dear leader’ Narendra Modi from coming to USA but US Food and drug administration is frequenting his town.

A company (Rediff) whose financial data is not properly available on EDGAR online or anyother place and has almost trippled in 6 months is something one must stay away from. Looks like BAIDUto me but without profits.

This company was mentioned by epileptic Jim Cramer on his show “Mad Money”, (I was watching a recorded version). The ticker below the screen was updating the REDF which went up by 3-4+ $ by the time the show ended. Jim Cramer described rediff.com as a portal to millions and millions of Indian. :-D.
dhaavak on February 7, 2006 at 11:54 pm said:

sonia… i suppose none of these sorryass newbies know what a hubba hubba knockout you are, or you’d be seeing waaaaaaaaay more traffic. do you still have your pix on your web site. 🙂
ruckus on February 8, 2006 at 12:08 am said:

Rediff had a special about the BSE sensex – it has jumped 3000 pts from 7000 to 10000 in less than a year. I wonder if this is all just a bubble waiting to burst.
Parikshit on February 8, 2006 at 4:22 am said:

All for putting India on the sports map.
Sonia on February 8, 2006 at 10:34 am said:

Lol, I didn’t realize “fund me” could have so many meanings. Dhaavak, thanks for the additional traffic last night =)
dhaavak on February 8, 2006 at 11:01 am said:

anytime sonia… as they say down home in the pind.. mention not. 🙂
dhaavak on February 8, 2006 at 11:06 am said:

speaking of sending web traffic… guess who’s the latest maxim girl…
Beta, hau ju have grown.
aw! man… i cant play the lech bit. she still looks godawful cute…
MoorNam on February 8, 2006 at 12:48 pm said:

fyi… the Indian stock market hit 10,000 yesterday (although it has settled down since). Doubled in less than 2 years! A lot of people are smiling…but not me:( My 401K plan does not have India funds that I can invest in.

M. Nam
dhaavak on February 10, 2006 at 1:16 am said:

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s trade minister on Friday criticized some European governments that oppose Mittal Steel’s bid for rival steel maker Arcelor and warned that their stance could derail continuing global trade talks. Last month, Mittal Steel Co. — the world’s largest steel maker run by Indian-born Lakshi N. Mittal — made an unsolicited bid to buy out European steel maker Arcelor SA, sparking sharp reaction from European officials — with some saying the two companies are ill-matched because of different corporate cultures and values. The governments of Luxembourg and Spain have opposed the euro18.6 billion ($22.5 billion) bid, while several top French officials have criticized the deal, raising fears of job losses in France and elsewhere on the continent. Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said Friday that the Indian government was concerned over the comments made by European officials. “The government of India is very concerned. We are seeing this with a sense of disappointment,” Nath told The Associated Press. Nath said the Mittal-Arcelor row come at a time when the World Trade Organization is debating liberalization of services trade — an area of vital interest to European companies. The EU is pushing WTO member nations to offer “national treatment” to foreign companies investing the services sector. “If the color of the shareholder, the nationality of the shareholder, or the passport of the shareholder is to be looked at, then we will have to give new definitions to national treatment,” Nath said. He said if the French and the Spanish persisted with their stance on the Mittal-Arcelor issue, it could derail ongoing WTO negotiations, which seek to bring a new global trade treaty by the end of this year.

airbus must be getting its undies in a knot…