TMB issue — Sivasankaran plans takeover again

When contacted Sivasankaran confirmed the move and said "I am ready to manage the bank since the majority of the stake is in my control and have offered to return the Rs 29 crore paid to me". "At this rate, Nadars would take 15 years to collect the Rs 155 crore and I can not wait any further", said the business tycoon who has been negotiating with several quarters for the last few years after he acquired the stake from the Essar group.

A Nadar Mahajana Forum official said the Forum would meet on April 8 in Chennai to discuss the situation arising out of its failure to mop up the required fund and to consider Sivasankaran’s offer to control the bank.

The Forum President Ramachandra Adityan has sought a meeting with Sivasankaran to disuss future action, the Forum officials said. Sivasankaran said that since the Forum had failed to keep the deadline, he had no choice but to take over the bank in the interest of customers and shareholders.

The Forum had agreed to pay Rs 155 crore for Sivasankaran’s stake after protracted negotiations and interventions by many political leaders. Sivasankaran had climbed down from his original stand of Rs 300 crore to agree for Rs 155 crore.

The Forum has been campaigning for the last few months to muster the required fund and is reported to have approched many leading businessmen.

The matter had become a political issue in Tamil Nadu. Sivasankaran had approached some leading financial institutions and finally a deal was brokered and Rs 20 crore was paid to Sivasankaran as the first instalment. The Forum was to have paid the remaining amount by March 31 as per the agreement.