Entrepreneurs building dream biz
Two of the entrepreneurs who sold their companies this year are already working on starting up new biz venture.
By Sachin Baxi, TNN |
MUMBAI: These guys aren’t wasting any time. Two of the entrepreneurs who sold their companies to global logistics giants earlier this year are already working on starting up new business ventures with a clean slate, giving in to their entrepreneurial spirit all over again. Mumbai-based Rajan Manchanda, MD and one of the founders of Prakash Air Freight (Pafex) sold the entire company lock, stock and barrel to Fedex Express in November ’06, and in September, Rajeev Goyal, MD, Speedage sold 100% of his company to another global giant, TNT Express. Both deals are just two examples of the rapidly consolidating nature of the logistics industry in India.
The common thread for the sell-out was that there wasn’t a better time to exit with valuations possibly at their best. Says Manchanda, “FedEx accounted for one third of our revenues of Rs 135 crore last year. FedEx will be able to take Pafex to much higher levels, given the need to invest into air/ground network. I couldn’t have put in crores at one go.” Goyal, ex-Speedage, adds, “In our business, while prices for logistics services remained flat or even got forced down, costs of operations were rising all the time. Speedage was doing well - we crossed Rs 100 crore sales in 2005-06-but I felt the time was right to exit when a large global player like TNT could take the company on a higher trajectory.”
And move on they have. Rajan Manchanda wants to set up budget hotels in Mumbai and Bangalore in the price band of Rs 1,500 a day. Why hotels? “I want to start something entirely new,” he says, in his Mumbai office, having just declared the sale of Pafex to Fedex for around Rs 138 crore. “I just can’t sit around doing nothing. I am used to working 14-16 hours a day, and I will go to the grave from the office. Besides, there’s demand for budget hotels. Recently I couldn’t get a room even at Rs 18,000 in Bangalore!”
Rajeev Goyal named his new company SG Ventures, which will look at opportunities in retail (apparel and food), arts, including animation and paintings. “ I intend to create brands,” he says, in the Speedage office in suburban Goregaon, Mumbai. “We will get into businesses were pricing is not a constraint. We will offer an experience, in whatever field we enter, where people won’t mind paying for the experience. That could mean restaurant or retail chains, fashion or such like.” Goyal is in discussions with other companies and banks for equity and / or venture capital. “ I am also looking for entrepreneurs who have a plan and vision to invest in,” he says. He has already recruited 15 people for the new company.
With global majors forcing consolidation in India, logistics entrepreneurs are being courted all year around. There have been approaches to almost every major player in logistics over the past few years. With the economy booming, there isn’t a better time to enter or exit the logistics industry.
The common thread for the sell-out was that there wasn’t a better time to exit with valuations possibly at their best. Says Manchanda, “FedEx accounted for one third of our revenues of Rs 135 crore last year. FedEx will be able to take Pafex to much higher levels, given the need to invest into air/ground network. I couldn’t have put in crores at one go.” Goyal, ex-Speedage, adds, “In our business, while prices for logistics services remained flat or even got forced down, costs of operations were rising all the time. Speedage was doing well - we crossed Rs 100 crore sales in 2005-06-but I felt the time was right to exit when a large global player like TNT could take the company on a higher trajectory.”
And move on they have. Rajan Manchanda wants to set up budget hotels in Mumbai and Bangalore in the price band of Rs 1,500 a day. Why hotels? “I want to start something entirely new,” he says, in his Mumbai office, having just declared the sale of Pafex to Fedex for around Rs 138 crore. “I just can’t sit around doing nothing. I am used to working 14-16 hours a day, and I will go to the grave from the office. Besides, there’s demand for budget hotels. Recently I couldn’t get a room even at Rs 18,000 in Bangalore!”
Rajeev Goyal named his new company SG Ventures, which will look at opportunities in retail (apparel and food), arts, including animation and paintings. “ I intend to create brands,” he says, in the Speedage office in suburban Goregaon, Mumbai. “We will get into businesses were pricing is not a constraint. We will offer an experience, in whatever field we enter, where people won’t mind paying for the experience. That could mean restaurant or retail chains, fashion or such like.” Goyal is in discussions with other companies and banks for equity and / or venture capital. “ I am also looking for entrepreneurs who have a plan and vision to invest in,” he says. He has already recruited 15 people for the new company.
With global majors forcing consolidation in India, logistics entrepreneurs are being courted all year around. There have been approaches to almost every major player in logistics over the past few years. With the economy booming, there isn’t a better time to enter or exit the logistics industry.
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