+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

The body of India's missing 'coffee king' has been found

Jul 31, 2019, 15:12 IST

Reuters

Advertisement
  • The body of India's missing 'coffee king' was found by a fisherman on Wednesday morning.
  • V.G. Siddhartha, the creator of India's largest coffee chain, told his driver he was going for a walk on Monday night but didn't return.
  • The Coffee Day founder appeared to be under pressure from partners, lenders, and tax officials.
  • Watch Coffee Day trade live.

The body of India's missing 'coffee king' was found by a fisherman on Wednesday morning.

V.G. Siddhartha, the founder of India's largest coffee chain, Coffee Day, told his driver he was going for a walk on Monday night but didn't return. Coffee Day's board released a letter apparently penned by Siddhartha, in which he described mounting pressure from lenders, tax officials, and a private-equity partner. Some have questioned its authenticity.

Siddhartha complained of a "serious liquidity crunch" in the letter. "I have failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts," he wrote. "I gave it my all but today I gave up as I could not take any more pressure."

Shares in Coffee Day plunged another 20% on Wednesday, after slumping 20% on Tuesday. The company's future is now in doubt, given Siddhartha, his wife, and companies tied to them controlled about 53% of Coffee Day's equity, according to the Financial Times.

Advertisement

About 41% of Coffee Day's equity has been pledged as collateral to various lenders, the FT said. The company's debt surged 29% to 65.5 billion rupees ($950 million) in the year to March, Bloomberg said.

Next Article