8:33 AM
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ANIL Ambani is a dedicated marathon runner. That skill
was in full display today as he moved from one annual general meeting to
another— four in all — from early morning to the evening.
In the process, the chairman of R-ADAG, now known as
Reliance Group, spelled out his detailed blueprint for each of his group
companies: Reliance Capital, Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and
Reliance Infrastructure. The game plan involves setting up a bank (to be called
‘Reliance Bank’), increasing promoter holding in RCom and stake sale in the
telecommunications, asset management and general insurance businesses.
Investors did respond to Ambani’s grand plan, sending the
entire R-ADAG pack in the green — from 1.5 per cent to four per cent. The stake
sale plans tie in well with the group’s search for funds to pare debt, which
has been weighing on its performance. RCom is in advanced talks with many
investors to sell a stake in telecom tower firm Reliance Infratel. The company
has been looking to raise funds via stake sales for more than a year but hasn’t
been successful so far, and as of March 31, 2011, it had debt of `32,000 crore.
The group has, of late, been embroiled in the 2G spectrum
allocation controversy. Three of its executives are still in jail in connection
with that. Ambani said the possible Reliance Infratel transaction could be
India’s largest private-equity deal ever. “I am sure that we will be able to
move forward expeditiously,” he said. The largest PE deal in India so far
involved a clutch of investors buying astake in Bharti Infratel, the tower arm
of Bharti Airtel, for about $1 billion in December 2007.
Value
unlocking was a recurring theme. Reliance Capital, Ambani said, was in
discussions with Japan’s Nippon Life for a similar deal in Reliance Mutual
Fund. Reliance Capital raised `3,062 crore recently by selling 26 per cent in
Reliance Life Insurance to Nippon Life earlier this year.