Intuition. Perception. Perfection.

     On 2 nd  December 2001, America’s 7 th  largest corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. And it broke Wall Street’s heart. This was a company that had been the blue-eyed boy of the stock markets for the better part of a decade, a global giant that had literally risen from nothing and had gone on to become a titan and bellwether of its industry, much to the utter delight of Wall Street. And the bourses had long placed the company on a pedestal. It was a juggernaut that could literally do no wrong, a company that was governed by some of the most brilliant, celebrated and capable men that America Inc. had ever known. The entity in question had taken the oil-and-gas and energy sectors by storm and it had single-handedly managed to revolutionize the once-lacklustre industries.           It had taken over 15 years for America’s most innovative corporation to grow to a size of $70 billion. All it took fo...

     Four – decade old Apollo Tyres is in a sticky situation. Struggling to regain the market’s favour after a $2.5 billion bid for Cooper Tire was punctured over a year ago and following a dismal third quarter performance in the recently concluded fiscal, the stock has taken a beating in the recent past. Urging its investors to hang on, the management continues to reassure them that not all is lost and that Apollo, much like its Greek namesake, would once again shine bright.      In the larger scheme of things, the broader markets continue their upward trajectory, inching firmly past each new resistance zone. Intermittent bouts of volatility do ensue but the markets continue to trend higher, driven by pharma and consumer stocks that are in the limelight. Laggards like Apollo Tyres are often left biting the dust. Yet, Apollo harbours a secret, one that soon promises to reverse the stock spiral and take the company back to the glory of its h...

     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 a...

      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...