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India

March 10, 2011

Sports carmaker Ferrari, 90% controlled by the Agnelli family's Fiat, has announced it will begin selling its cars in India following an agreement with India's luxury retail company, the Shreyans Group.

Indian telecommunications company in hot water

February 21, 2011

Reliance Communications, India’s second-largest telecommunications company, saw its shares fall by almost 50% over the last year, and further dropped by nearly 7% last week amid corruption accusations.

Shares of the family-controlled telecommunications group, headed by second-generation Anil Ambani, had been one of the worst performers in India’s stock exchange last year, and had slipped from Rs 800 (€13) to Rs 93 (€1.5).

This fall in value of the flagship company adds more worry for Ambani, who is in the middle of a federal investigation by India’s anti-corruption body. He has been accused of selling mobile phone licenses to companies at a low price, which allegedly cost the Indian government around $39 billion.

Family-controlled carmakers see a spring in their step

February 10, 2011

The year has started on a positive note for family-controlled carmakers, with BMW, Audi and Peugeot Citroen reporting a rise in sales. Helped by surging demand not just in emerging markets, but also the developed world, it has raised hopes that the worst of recession may be running its course for the automobile sector.

Real estate giant to enter India

January 17, 2011

Privately owned real estate and entertainment company, the Trump Organisation, has announced plans to enter the Indian property market with a luxury residential tower in the city of Mumbai.

The New-York based company, owned and managed by Donald Trump, is to work with Indian developers Rohan Lifescapes for its first venture in India, said a report in Bloomberg.

Executive vice president, Donald Trump Jr, told Bloomberg: "The market place (in India) is beginning to understand and appreciate luxury, so there is a great opening for us there, as well as in resorts"

Heineken acquires breweries in Nigeria

January 12, 2011

Family-owned brewing company Heineken announced on 12 January that it has acquired controlling interests in five breweries in Nigeria as it continues its expansion in emerging markets.

The breweries acquired include two holding companies of the Nigerian-based Sona Group, giving Heineken access to Sona, IBBI, Benue, Life and Champion breweries. The financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Heineken also said that it would consider the possibility of consolidating the acquired breweries into its existing business in Nigeria, but gave no timetable.

Family business signs among biggest deals this year

October 29, 2010

Reliance Power, the Indian energy company controlled by Anil Ambani, has ordered $10 billion worth of power generation equipment from Shanghai Electric Group.

Reliance Power, the Indian energy company controlled by Anil Ambani, has ordered $10 billion worth of power generation equipment from Shanghai Electric Group.

The deal is not only one of the biggest done by any family-controlled company this year, but it is the largest ever single business relationship between India and China, according to Ambani.

Shanghai Electric will supply 42 coal-based power generation units of 660MW each and will also supply spare parts, services and training in India.

Acquisitions by emerging market family businesses set to rise

September 22, 2010

In the 1980s Japanese companies, buoyed by huge piles of cash and the strongest domestic economy in the world, bought a host of assets in the US and Europe.

In the 1980s Japanese companies, buoyed by huge piles of cash and the strongest domestic economy in the world, bought a host of assets in the US and Europe.

One of the most memorable acquisitions was the purchase of the Rockefeller Centre in New York City in 1989 by a Japanese real estate company. At the time, the purchase was seen at just how much the centre of economic power had shifted away from the US towards Japan and Asia.

Indian business tycoon targets Hollywood acquisition

September 21, 2010

Sahara India Pariwar, the Indian conglomerate controlled by billionaire Subrata Roy, is in discussions to purchase Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the debt-ridden Hollywood studio.

Sahara India Pariwar, the Indian conglomerate controlled by billionaire Subrata Roy, is in discussions to purchase Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the debt-ridden Hollywood studio.

Media reports say Sahara has made a $2 billion bid for the studio, which has debts of around $3.7 billion, amassed when it was taken over in 2005 by private equity groups and Sony.

News analysis: Has doing business in India just got harder?

September 10, 2010

A ruling by Mumbai’s high court that has landed UK-based phone operator Vodafone with a huge tax bill could have ramifications for family companies looking to build business interests in India.

A ruling by Mumbai's high court that has landed UK-based phone operator Vodafone with a huge tax bill could have ramifications for family companies looking to build business interests in India.

The high court ruled on Wednesday that the $11 billion (€8.64 billion) sale of mobile phone business Hutchison Essar, a subsidiary of the Li family's Hong-Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa conglomerate, to Vodafone in 2008, is eligible for capital gains tax in India.

Reliance Industries makes luxury hotel acquisition

August 31, 2010

Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries has continued its diversification drive with the purchase of a minority stake in family-run luxury hotel group Oberoi.

Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has continued its diversification drive with the purchase of a minority stake in family-run luxury hotel group Oberoi.

Reliance Industries Investment and Holding Private Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, has acquired a 14.12% stake in Oberoi subsidiary EIH for $217 million.

In a statement, Reliance said it had decided to make an investment as "the Oberoi family had developed Oberoi Hotels into a premier international brand".