Reality cheque

Ratan Tata seems to have realised that telecom and the Tatas don8217;t quite make the perfect cocktail. Bearing that fact in mind, he is no...

Ratan Tata seems to have realised that telecom and the Tatas don8217;t quite make the perfect cocktail. Bearing that fact in mind, he is now on the prowl once again. The mellowed down Ratan Tata can be now seen making inquiries in a sector he is more comfortable with, steel. The tycoon has contacted the IDBI Bank to cobble together a deal for Ispat.

What does not fall into place, is the fact that it has already been more than eight months and the huddled management of the Tatas and IDBI has not been able to present a deal that would strike the right note. Maybe it is because the tycoon is still licking his wounds from a fierce battle with the telecom ministry. Another reason could be the condition of Ispat itself. The company is under a heavy operating cost of Rs 10,800 per tonne in comparison to Tata Steel which has an operating cost of Rs 9,500. The last time Ratan Tata ventured into uncharted territory he suffered a heartburn he is not likely to forget. With his new acquisition he could be thinking he is going to be the king of steel once again.

Cutting its losses

There8217;s no predicting when a company8217;s fortunes will turn. The latest MNC to start selling off its excess baggage in India is the Indian arm of Gillette Company USA. This sudden sale is owing to the fact that Gillette India has managed to post a net loss in 2001 as compared with a net profit in 2000. So it8217;s a urgent move to get rid of excess baggage. Of course it8217;s quite a debacle for Gillette when you recall that it8217;s not too long back that Salim Sherwani, the erstwhile owner of Geep, managed to wash his hands off his family owned business which Gillettte had bought up lock, stock and barrel. Sherwani to his credit had managed to swing a sweetheart deal with Gillette through his sale of Geep to the MNC. Of course this was at a time when multinational corporations were making an appearance in India. And along with their advent they were picking up various Indian companies to add to their booty. But obviously, some calculations went awry.

Eye of the tiger

Britannia Industries CEO Sunil Alagh has a consuming interest which hasn8217;t received much attention. That is Alagh8217;s love for the tiger. A most unlikely conservationist, Alagh, has always been better known for his marketing instincts and the re-positioning of India8217;s premier foods company. Britannia has lobbied to protect tiger habitats, mobilise teachers and school children and, perhaps most important of all, help analyse and strategise the saving of the tiger with leading wildlife experts. Since children are the company8217;s main consumers Alagh decided to concentrate on them. Some think that the Britannias biscuit brand 8216;Tiger8217; also stems from this passion. But was the tiger conservation project started simply to boost the sales of Britannia8217;s Tiger biscuits? Well to give credit where it8217;s due, during the entire first year of the campaign the brand of biscuits was virtually non-existent. Of course, I8217;m sure Alagh doesn8217;t view the association as completely unwelcome. Alagh keeps his and the company8217;s work in this field out of the media eye. Maybe a few more corporations could follow his lead.

Dilip Cherian, runs a public affairs firm Perfect Relations. He is an economy watcher and tycoon tracker. None of the people he writes about are his clients. Your insider tales are welcome at dilipcheriannow-india.net.in