Mumbai firm Darwin Group submits bid to invest in grounded Jet Airways

Company News

Ajay Harinath Singh, a Mumbai-based resident who claims to run diverse businesses across 11 countries, has submitted an offer to invest in Jet Airways.

Singh’s Darwin Platform Group (DPG) is the third unsolicited bidder to stake a claim for revival of the grounded airline. Others include former flight steward-turned-entrepreneur Jason Unsworth and London-based investment firm Adi Partners.Representatives of DPG, including its Chief Executive Officer Rahul Ganpule met executives of SBI Capital Markets on Wednesday. The meeting took place a day after top-level exits at Jet, which is seen as a pointer to airline’s uncertain future.

Lenders had called for bids last month and among qualified parties, only Etihad Airways submitted a conditional investment offer. The Abu Dhabi airline has said anyone investing more than 5 per cent in Jet should have its approval. Lenders continue to seek investors to turn around the airline and are meeting those making unsolicited bids.A report on Moneycontrol.com said a Russian aviation professional named Oleg Evdokimov, too, has submitted his expertise to turn around Jet but he is not interested in picking up a stake.

While continuing to engage with unsolicited parties lenders are taking their offers with a pinch of salt. “Discussions are going on to ascertain their seriousness. We have asked them for documents and proofs of investible funds,” said a source from the banking industry.


 DPG representatives told SBI Capital Markets they could invest Rs 14,000 crore in the airline and sought details of the company’s assets, liabilities and litigation. DPG website says Singh is a native of Sultanpur (Uttar Pradesh), with a royal-cum-business background and can speak Dutch, French and Russian language, along with other Indian languages. Singh’s business interests span across various areas like finance, farming and film production.

Tata Chemicals transfers food and beverages business to Tata Global

Company News

The $104-billion Tata group on Wednesday announced that it was demerging the consumer products business of Tata Chemicals into Tata Global Beverages as part of a larger mandate to bring food and beverages under one unit.

The announcement brings to an end days of speculation and comes nearly two months after Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran restructured operations under 10 verticals at the conglomerate in a bid to streamline its business.

Tata Global will be renamed Tata Consumer Products after the demerger and will see its turnover rise 25 per cent to Rs 9,099 crore with earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) of Rs 1,154 crore. The market capitalisation of the new entity will be Rs 18,000 crore at the current share price of Tata Global, said analysts, which is an increase of nearly Rs 5,800 crore over its Wednesday’s market capitalisation, which stood at Rs 12,500 crore.

Under the demerger process, 114 shares of Tata Global will be issued for every 100 shares of Tata Chemicals, taking the latter’s post-demerger share base to 920 million from 631 million now.
Also, Tata Chemicals will see its revenue (including inter-segment sales) decline by 15 per cent to Rs 10,336 crore.


 Apart from Tata Salt and Tata Sampann, which is into spices, pulses and snacks, the demerger will see the transfer of a little-known brand called Tata Dx, a detergent powder, to Tata Global. Launched by Tata Chemicals on a pilot basis in West Bengal in the March quarter, this brand is likely to get an aggressive push from Tata Global in future as it eyes a foray into home care. Top sources in the group say this is one of the key legs of the consolidation drive in consumer, which will unfold in the months ahead.