BS Reporters | Kolkata April 15, 2013 Last Updated at 00:54 IST
RP Goenka established RPG Enterprises in 1979, which included Phillips Carbon Black, Asian Cables and Murphy India
Rama Prasad Goenka, one of the country’s earliest takeover tycoons, died here today, leaving behind a Rs 31,000-crore empire. He was 83.
He was unwell for a while. The cremation was held at the Keoratala ghat. The baithak will be today.
After graduating in history from the elite Presidency College, Goenka attended an advanced management programme at Harvard.
He joined Duncan Brothers, then a managing agency, in 1951 on Rs 350 a month. Later, in a coup of sorts, Keshav Prasad Goenka, Rama Prasad’s father, took control of Duncan Brothers. The appetite for acquisition was possibly passed on from father to son. After the family settlement — that entailed dividing Keshav Prasad’s empire among three sons, Rama Prasad embarked on a buying spree, and the title of takeover tycoon stuck to him for life.
RPG Enterprises was formed in 1979, with an annual turnover of Rs 105 crore. In 1981, Ceat was acquired. There was no looking back since then. At the insistence of Sanjiv Goenka, CESC was bought. The other acquisitions include KEC, HMV, Spencer and Harrisons Malayalam.
Dunlop was a separate story. Goenka acquired a minority stake in the company, along with Manu Chhabria. Differences with Chhabria led Goenka to sell his stake, though only after turning it around.
Among the aborted attempts were Premier Automobiles Ltd (PAL) and Haldia Petrochemicals. The attempt to acquire PAL was apparently put off on a request from Indira Gandhi.
His proximity to Gandhi was well known, as was the fact that his loyalties were with the Congress. He was elected as Rajya Sabha member in 2000.
It could be foresight or personal experience but Goenka drew up the blueprint for one of the most amicable settlements in India Inc, that formalised a division of assets between his sons about three years ago.
The settlement was the genesis of a new entity for the Sanjiv Goenka-controlled companies, the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group. The Harsh Goenka companies are under the aegis of RPG Enterprises, though both sons have the right to use the RPG name.
People in the know say Goenka had learnt early in life that this was the best way to nip in the bud any possible settlement disputes.
Keshav Prasad had divided his empire — spread across tea, automobiles, tyre, jute, cotton textile and electric cables — among three sons in his lifetime.
Gita Piramal’s book, Business Maharajas, says according to the settlement drawn up by Keshav Prasad, brothers Jagdish, Gouri and Rama started out with a clutch of companies with roughly the same turnover. Each group contained a carbon black company but varied in profitability and potential. It was decided that inheritance should be such that there was least disturbance to the management of the companies.
A look at the split between the Sanjiv Goenka group of companies and Harsh Goenka shows the underlying theme was common in the method for separation: A near-equal share of sales turnover between the segregated group of companies and least disruption to management, as the brothers have bagged the companies that they managed.
Rama Prasad Goenka will always be known for his business mettle. But he once told a close aide that his greatest achievement was the temples that he built, including the Mahalaxmi temple in Kolkata. He was especially happy that he had not built a “Goenka Temple”.
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