The Richard Branson Way.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PVR Cinemas: Showdown On The Silver Screen.

Image
     As the sun threw its rays across the early morning sky, the board of directors of PVR Ltd. was in a closed – doors meeting at the company’s Gurgaon headquarters. Over the past few months, rumours had been doing the rounds of the markets that the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s (ADAG) subsidiary company, Reliance MediaWorks was looking to offload a controlling stake in its multiplex operator, Big Cinemas. Big Cinemas, however, was a loss – making company and its acquirer would have to turn it around for the acquisition to be value – accretive. Wild speculation had surrounded the entire episode but in September 2014, some clarity emerged when ADAG invited bids for Big Cinemas. PVR, hungry for growth and expansion, had thrown its hat into the ring, along with some other biggies such as INOX Leisure, Carnival Films, Provident Equity Partners (a US – based private equity firm) and Navis Capital (a Malaysian private equity fund).      Two days ago, PVR’s board had approved a $81
Read more

Ricoh: A Fraud's Story.

Image
     Yes, you’re right. The title does seem similar to that of one of Richard Gere’s finer movies, Hachiko: A Dog’s Story (or the subsequently abbreviated Hachi: A Dog’s Tale). The similarities, however, between the Akita and the Japanese giant, Ricoh end there. For, while Hachiko was loyal to his master until his last dying breath, Ricoh’s Indian subsidiary didn’t exactly share that trait. In fact, as the past few years have evidenced, Ricoh India has lost no occasion to rip off its shareholders and leave them high and dry.      When it comes to high standards of corporate governance and good management practices, Japanese companies have always been placed on a pedestal and managed to live up to their high standards. All that, however, has changed over the course of the past decade. Be it Toshiba’s overstated profits, Olympus’ fishy acquisitions to brush its investment losses under the carpet, Mitsubishi’s fuel economy scandal or even Takata’s widespread recalls following its f
Read more

Bucks, Balls and The Beautiful Game.

Image
     If there’s indeed a global sport in which money talks, football would be it. Lucrative contracts, sponsorship deals, stadium naming rights, multi-billion Euro television broadcast rights, player transfer fees and merchandise sales all portray the grip that money has gained on the game. And if there was money to be made, it was only a matter of time before private equity came calling.      Now typically, sports franchises don’t have the trappings of a typical private equity investment. Returns, after all, are difficult to come by. Sports franchises are expensive to acquire in the first place and need perennial cash infusions to meet their season expenses and contract bids. With revenue streams being largely lumpy and seasonal, building a steady non-game revenue stream needs heavy marketing and brand building. Broadcasting revenue and merchandising provide some stability and predictability, while fans’ club loyalty is a powerful adhesive. Even then, most teams swing from profits to
Read more