Corporate Chatter: Mukesh Ambani's friend in the desert; billionaire stuck overseas; Anshu Jain-backed InCred eyes new deal

ET’s weekly roundup of the wackiest whispers and murmurs in corporate corridors & policy parlours.

Desert Dost
The mega investment in Jio Platforms by Saudi sovereign fund PIF, its first in India, has further cemented the multi-decade-old commercial relationship between the kingdom and India’s top corporate. Some say it also highlights the close rapport Mukesh Ambani has struck with Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the fund’s new boss, who also doubles up as chief of Saudi Aramco. Last year, during the ‘Davos in the Desert’ meet that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ambani, Al-Rumayyan had even hosted the latter at his residence for a private dinner, we hear. Guess who was flown in to entertain the guests? None other than AR Rahman. This personal bond will come in handy when inking the much-awaited alliance between two of the biggest oil industry giants.

Offshore Banking
This billionaire has been stuck overseas for months now as the lockdown has severely hampered travel. But that has not impacted his business or personal investments, as the grapevine has it that his family office has been approached with a proposal to buy into a mid-sized private bank. A bit of a surprise, as we have also been hearing that some of his offshore real estate bets may have taken some hard knocks in recent times.

Also Read: Corporate chatter: Adani may be hit by bad news from Down Under; a CEO's tweet has his team dial his rivals; Amit Raje's new innings with Mahindra

Novel Idea
A leading corporate that’s been grabbing much of the headlines these days is contemplating a new job protocol for its massive workforce, we hear. Employees may be given the option of permanently working from home but with a 20% reduction in pay. Several are tempted, as this would mean cutting down on travel time and related expenses since several of the offices are not located in central business districts. The coronavirus and subsequent lockdown have certainly thrown up novel models for work, play and everything in between.

Mapping a Merger
Anshu Jain-backed NBFC InCred has always nurtured big ambitions to be a leader in its space. The team, led by Jain’s protégé from Deutsche Bank Bhupinder Singh, has been associated with several buyout conversations, ranging from small banks to insurance and wealth management companies. We learn it’s back in the reckoning, and this time, the plan involves merging with a Bengaluru-based investment bank that specialises in mid-market deals. You heard it here first!

Landing in Trouble?
No foreign investor would like investigation agencies hounding its investee companies, and if it’s a blue-blooded PE firm, then agitation levels are exponentially higher. A little bird tells us that the recent filing of a criminal case against a wellknown caregiver entrepreneur has flustered quite a few at headquarters. An internal fact-finding probe has been initiated to check if these potential risks had come up during the initial due diligence.

Rising to the Occasion
Typically, newly-anointed top bosses prefer not to upset the status quo from the get-go. But this farmto-financial services conglomerate saw the winds of glasnost sweep in on day zero, as the new young chairman-designate read out the riot act at a recent board meeting. Scale up or ship out was his message to smaller group companies. Such plainspeak, we are told, came as a wakeup call to many, with some marquee global outposts on the chopping board.