INDIA BUSINESS WORLD SEPTEMBER (16th - 30th) 2007
The Month that was ...
SOUTH-BASED TYCOON C. SIVASANKARAN BUYS 50% STAKE IN SAHARA BOSS' RS 200-CR BOEING BUSINESS JET
You've heard of taxi sharing and car pool. But this one's unique. South-based tycoon C Sivasankaran is boarding the private jet of Sahara group patriarch Subroto Roy as a coowner.
According to sources close to the development, Mr Sivasankaran, who has been in the news for his stake sale in coffee chain Barista and telecom operator, Aircel, will take a 50 % stake in the state-of-the-art Boeing business jet. The Sahara boss, in effect would now have to share his jet with the south-based takeover artist.
Apparently, ever since an ailment a few years back, Mr Roy had limited his travel engagements and therefore, the plane was not used much. The arrangement with Mr Sivasankaran would perhaps lead to an optimum use of the aircraft. Before Mr Roy took over the jet about three years ago, it used to be the private jet of the Boeing chairman.
The business jet, a Boeing 737, is said to be valued at Rs 200 crore and this would mean both Roy and Sivasankaran would effectively have to cough up around Rs 100 crore each for the jet. Sahara insiders say that though the jet was acquired a few years back, it was effectively on lease and it's only now that it would be purchased from Boeing. When contacted, a Sahara spokesperson confirmed the development. He said that the Boeing business jet was booked by Sahara earlier and it has now been purchased jointly in association with Siva Limited. According to sources in the civil aviation ministry, there has been an inquiry from the Sahara group on the formalities and paper that one needs to have to get a private commercial jet transferred on a personal name. The Boeing business jet among other things boasts of a private bed room, two bath rooms, a dining space, two sattelite phones, a fax, 10 TV screens and a common sitting area.
The Sahara group which also sponsors the Indian cricket and hockey teams recently sold off its private airline business - Air Sahara - to Jet Airways, which had a fleet of 20 aircraft and four helicopters operating 123 flights with 11,900 seats daily. The personal jet was, however, not part of the deal with Jet.
The $10.87-billion Sahara group has interests in para banking, media, real estate, information technology, life insurance and film production. Mr Sivasankaran, on the other hand started his carrier as a fabricator in Madras Refineries and launched Aircel in 1997 in Tamil Nadu. In 2003, he bought a 79% equity in RPG Cellular for Rs 210 crore. In fact in 2004 he bought a 65.4% equity stake in the Barista coffee chain from Turner Morrison for Rs 30 crore and in March 2007 sold the entire stake to Lavazza of Italy for a cool Rs 480 crore.
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