Intuition. Perception. Perfection.

     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

      Storms. They don’t usually occur in teacups. And yet, the expression continues to do the rounds of the English language. While ‘a storm in a teacup’ may refer to a situation which has witnessed its fair share of excess attention and outcry, certain business sectors in India share that very same feature. But storms, on their part, don’t just appear out of the blue. They take weeks, months and sometimes even years to build up and then, they unleash their pent - up fury. Storms, especially post – 2008, have hit virtually every business segment in the country and their intensity is only going to increase in future. Nowadays however, most storms seem to be gunning for new spots. India’s café market just so happens to be the latest target.      Being a customer – centric, food and beverage (F&B) business, India’s organized fast food market, mainly composed of quick service restaurants (QSRs), still continues to grow a double – digit rate. The same growth though has tapered in