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Biz Buzz: Ambanis on safari together

New Delhi, June 13
Leaving little to doubt about their growing understanding at home and at work, Mukesh and Anil Ambani holidayed with their families in South Africa and are believed to have discussed synergising their businesses to mutual advantage.

The brothers, who have been battling ever since Ambani family patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani passed away in July, 2002, revisited the same lodge at the Kruger National Park, where their father had brought the family in 2000.

During the three-night stay together, the brothers are understood to have discussed on ways to leverage from each other’s business activities in the telecom, finance and entertainment sectors, sources say.

Spokesperson of both Mukesh and Anil’s groups declined to comment on various queries on the bonhomie and business collaborations, an indication of which came in the identical statements by both sides on May 23 announcing a truce.

“RIL and Reliance ADA Group are hopeful and confident that all these steps would create an overall environment of harmony, cooperation and collaboration between the two groups, thereby further enhancing the overall value for shareholders of both groups”, the statement had said.

The two brothers also discussed the strategy for the telecom sector.

The collaboration following the truce between the two brothers could pose a formidable challenge to other players in the sector, analysts feel.

Mukesh’s wife Nita and children Akash, Isha and Anant, and Anil’s wife Tina and sons, Anmol and Anant, camped at Kruger, one of Africa’s largest game reserves last week, sources said.

Mukesh’s long-time friend and trusted lieutenant Anand Jain, who played a key role in the peace pact announced by two brothers on May 23, was also believed to be there. The pact allows the two camps the flexibility to enter areas of business where the other is already present.

The announcement marked the beginning of the end of the biggest corporate battle in the country’s history. After all, the revenues of Mukesh-led Reliance Industries alone account for a staggering 3 per cent of the nation’s GDP.

This was followed by Anil stopping over at RIL’s guest house in Tirumala while on a pilgrimage and withdrawing his Rs 10,000-crore defamation suit against Mukesh over the latter’s newspaper interview, from the Bombay High Court.

Last Friday, Mukesh’s RIL announced acquisition of 95 per cent stake in Infotel Broadband from the HFCL Group, a company that has won all-India licence for offering broadband wireless services.

At the jungle retreat, the brothers are also believed to have discussed a joint strategy for businesses ranging from telecom to finance.

Anil’s Reliance Communications is already a leading player in the mobile telephony segment and won licences for most number of circles, including the prized Mumbai and Delhi, for offering 3G (third generation) mobile services.

Market analysts see the possibility of Mukesh leveraging from Anil’s telecom arm Reliance Communication, whose infrastructure includes 10,000 towers and 1,20,000 km of optic fibre network spread over 1,600 towns across the country for his just-bought broadband services, while Anil could tap Mukesh-led Reliance Retail’s network for selling products of Reliance Capital and Reliance Entertainment. — PTI