From markets to jute, Bajoria made his presence felt
If you chanced to meet anyone in the cloistered pigeon-holes of the Katni market at India Exchange Place or the offices around Clive Row and Old Chinabazar, anybody would have given you estimates ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 crore, just like th...
By TNN |
KOLKATA: It was said of him that every conceivable industrialist in the country had knocked on his doors for money he was so enormously cash rich! Speculation at one point was rampant on how rich he actually was. If you chanced to meet anyone in the cloistered pigeon-holes of the Katni market at India Exchange Place or the offices around Clive Row and Old Chinabazar, anybody would have given you estimates ranging from Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 crore, just like that.
With that kind of money, Arun Bajoria (63) who died on Friday morning in Mumbai could, therefore, lord over the only business he really knew, jute. Funds weren���t a problem and over time, he emerged as the single-largest owner of jute mills in the country; the virtual Ceasar of jute, with overall assets at Rs 2,000 crore.
The industry has an average annual production of 17 lakh tonnes, which at around Rs 30,000 per tonne, aggregates a shade over Rs 5,100 crore. Of this, the Bajoria jute pie alone was about Rs 1,000 crore. His colossal funds strength had found another manifestation as well. For quite sometime in the late 1980s and right through the 1990s, Bajoria also emerged as a critical mover of the stock market. He wasn���t ever in the foreground really, but his stable-hands mopped up whatever he fancied.
It was a streak, that at one point of time also led him to pick up a 14% block of Bombay Dyeing, leading to huge speculation in the media, whether the jute baron would actually mount a hostile takeover bid for the Nusli Wadia flagship. He maintained, however, steadfastly that he wasn���t interested in the company, but in investment into the stock. He was known as the king of cheap buys, whether equities, jute mills or real estate.
With Mr Bajoria���s passing away, speculation is now intense whether this could trigger off the next round of takeovers and M&As in the jute industry. Afterall, the jute baron had substantial assets. In West Bengal alone, he had seven jute mills - Hukumchand, Waverley, Hooghly Jute, Bowreah, Fort William, Gondalpara and Ranigaunge near Durgapur. He had recently sold off India Jute to the Kajarias. He also had four jute mills in Andhra Pradesh, including Aruna Jute. Overall, these mills provided employment to about 50,000 people.
Inheritance, is an issue, that crops up inevitably in such cases and Mr Bajoria has left behind an aged mother, a wife and four daughters ��� three of whom are married. His wife and one of the daughters are believed to have been attending mill offices for the last six months or so. But the show of course, was being run by senior executives.
In a momentary flash-back to his under-graduate days at St Xavier���s College in Kolkata, where he had studied chemistry, Mr Bajoria had recalled how his father, Radheshyam, initiated him into the nuances of jute during his college days. He inherited Hooghly Jute Mills from his father. In an industry that has been living a sunset for many twilights actually, Mr Bajoria dominated and helped faltering mill-owners. ���His absence would create an irreparable void in the industry,��� said Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Sanjay Kajaria.
With that kind of money, Arun Bajoria (63) who died on Friday morning in Mumbai could, therefore, lord over the only business he really knew, jute. Funds weren���t a problem and over time, he emerged as the single-largest owner of jute mills in the country; the virtual Ceasar of jute, with overall assets at Rs 2,000 crore.
The industry has an average annual production of 17 lakh tonnes, which at around Rs 30,000 per tonne, aggregates a shade over Rs 5,100 crore. Of this, the Bajoria jute pie alone was about Rs 1,000 crore. His colossal funds strength had found another manifestation as well. For quite sometime in the late 1980s and right through the 1990s, Bajoria also emerged as a critical mover of the stock market. He wasn���t ever in the foreground really, but his stable-hands mopped up whatever he fancied.
It was a streak, that at one point of time also led him to pick up a 14% block of Bombay Dyeing, leading to huge speculation in the media, whether the jute baron would actually mount a hostile takeover bid for the Nusli Wadia flagship. He maintained, however, steadfastly that he wasn���t interested in the company, but in investment into the stock. He was known as the king of cheap buys, whether equities, jute mills or real estate.
With Mr Bajoria���s passing away, speculation is now intense whether this could trigger off the next round of takeovers and M&As in the jute industry. Afterall, the jute baron had substantial assets. In West Bengal alone, he had seven jute mills - Hukumchand, Waverley, Hooghly Jute, Bowreah, Fort William, Gondalpara and Ranigaunge near Durgapur. He had recently sold off India Jute to the Kajarias. He also had four jute mills in Andhra Pradesh, including Aruna Jute. Overall, these mills provided employment to about 50,000 people.
Inheritance, is an issue, that crops up inevitably in such cases and Mr Bajoria has left behind an aged mother, a wife and four daughters ��� three of whom are married. His wife and one of the daughters are believed to have been attending mill offices for the last six months or so. But the show of course, was being run by senior executives.
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Jute isn���t a business for women, or so it is believed. Therefore, speculation abounds on how the vast Bajoria empire will now fare minus the man. Years ago and during his hey-days, replying to a question on why he preferred putting all his eggs in one basket when he had no dearth of funds, Bajoria had simply said : ���That���s because I know jute well and I can, therefore, expand only in jute.���In a momentary flash-back to his under-graduate days at St Xavier���s College in Kolkata, where he had studied chemistry, Mr Bajoria had recalled how his father, Radheshyam, initiated him into the nuances of jute during his college days. He inherited Hooghly Jute Mills from his father. In an industry that has been living a sunset for many twilights actually, Mr Bajoria dominated and helped faltering mill-owners. ���His absence would create an irreparable void in the industry,��� said Indian Jute Mills Association chairman Sanjay Kajaria.
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