Billionaire Indian Entrepreneur Goes Missing
The serial entrepreneur and tech investor known as «India’s coffee king» is feared dead.
Political scion, billionaire and entrepreneur behind KKR-backed Coffee Day Enterprises – the company that sprawled 1,700 Starbucks-style cafes across India – went missing today and fears he may be dead are mounting.
Bangalore-based VG Siddhartha, also known as «the coffee king of India,» was last seen by his chauffeur when he got out of his car close to a bridge that spans a fast-moving river saying he was going to walk the length of the bridge. The chauffeur alerted the billionaire’s family and authorities when he did not emerge on the other side of the bridge after what should have been an 8-kilometer walk.
Indian police have mounted a massive manhunt and shares in his company tumbled by 20 percent, despite a filing with the exchange that stresses it is «professionally managed and led by [a] competent leadership team.»
Deal with Coca-Cola
A prolific investor, Siddhartha sold a 21 percent stake in technology services group Mindtree in March this year for an estimated $473 million. Media reports last month speculated he was brokering a deal with Coca-Cola to sell his family’s share in the Cafe Coffee Day brand for $1.45 billion.
Data provider Refinitiv estimates Coffee Day’s net outstandings to be close to $1.11 billion and investors have expressed some concern over the company’s ability to repay these loans in the wake of today’s developments.
Suicide Note?
Investors have been spooked by a note, allegedly written by Siddhartha, that blames an unnamed private equity partner for «harassment» and decisions that adversely affected the company’s liquidity position. But he asserted that the buck stopped with him, «my team, auditors and senior management are totally unaware of all my transactions. The law should hold me and only me accountable,» the purported letter read.
U.S. private equity investor KKR, which owns slightly more than 6 percent of the company, said in a statement that it was «deeply saddened by the developments.»
