From Kingfisher Villa in Goa to Kingfisher calendar girls, to Kingfisher horse racing, Mallya was synonymous with wealth and luxe. So far so good. Deeply religious and a devotee of Lord Balaji, Mallya made all the right moves as a businessman. Not many had given him a chance when as a young man he was racing cars and walking around town with arm candy. But he proved how shrewd and calculating he was, when he knocked over the competition in the alcoholic beverages sector. Systematically, he mowed down all opposition to emerge as the undisputed badshah of liquor. Known as the liquor baron, he took a calculated risk by going overseas and pouching Whyte & Mackay. But every businessman, however clever, always makes one mistake. Mallya's bugbear proved to be his dalliance with the aviation sector. His naked obsession to best firstmover Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways has in many ways proved to be his undoing. Aviation, as is well-known, is a mug's game, a cash burning, cash guzzling, seriously hurting game. An affliction you cannot shake off. More so, if you are operating in a high crude pricing environment. The obsession to best Goyal's Jet was not limited to running a better airline, it meant that serving better cuisine, giving more leg space, hiring better-looking stewardesses and running wide-bodied aircraft. Can't fault him on that. But was this business model sustainable? No, not all. Yes, he did provide the Kingfisher experience to all the passengers, but when finances go into a tailspin, then it is a deathly spiral that one cannot come out of in a hurry. Between Formula One and IPL, Mallya doesn't have the time, inclination or bandwidth to focus on the ills that plague his airline business. Sleight of hand business acumen cannot work. Professionals cannot get a handle on a raging crisis the way a promoter can. For that, the promoter needs to be in station. When Mallya worked his way around divesting companies and brands, acquired liquor brands and gathered mass, he was the poster boy of business. It must be extremely galling for him to suffer these indignities. Known for his hospitality and large-heartedness, it must be hurting for Mallya that his airline is in such disarray. Not being able to pay salaries and meet other statutory obligations equally must be affecting his psyche. That is why it is imperative for VJM to show intent and commitment. If he has to remain a responsible airline and maintain schedule integrity, he will have to come up with a jack in the box. Two of his listed group companies - United Breweries and United Spirits Limited - have seen a spurt in their stock prices. At the same time, a smaller company, Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilisers, is reportedly on the block with a handful of suitors. The way forward will have to be sale of equity, perhaps even control, thereby charging control premium, and as such walk the talk. Putting his money where his mouth is. Mallya is a proud man and I reckon the time has come for him to decide whether he should keep his airline afloat. He cannot wait for the government to play nanny to him. PSU banks will only throw him a lifeline if he shows similar commitment. To his credit, he has invested `980 crore or thereabouts in the last 12 months, but he needs now to go the extra mile. Both UB and USL shares are flying, so something obviously is afoot. D Street normally gets wind of it first. A deal with global behemoths such as Diageo or William Grant may well alleviate his present woes. What analysts aver is that Mallya essentially requires a booster shot of `2,000 crore in Phase I. This way he can meet statutory obligations, vendor payments and wage bill commitments. If he can pull this off, then in Phase II, he can actually benefit from the government's FDI in civil aviation policy, which is in the works. If the government greenlights 49 per cent FDI, then a British Airways or an Etihad can swoop down on him. This will bail him out. Mallya may want deliverance from this extremely expensive mistake. A mistake that has changed his life and perception of him as a businessman. Can he bounce back? The odds are on him succeeding, but with a little help from the sale of equity in his liquor business.
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