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The mess at Argentum Motoros

Forbes India has an article on how the plans of Ajay Singh-, BVR Subbu- and Ashish Deora-founded Argentum, which had acquired the bankrupt Daewoo Motor's plant in Haryana to produce auto components for MNC auto makers, have fallen apart and is now essentially a Real Estate play.

...as things stand, the partnership is in tatters and Subbu and Singh are negotiating an exit strategy for the former and both blame each other for not fulfilling their responsibilities.

...While all the three partners agree economic conditions derailed their plans, they blame each other for making things worse. For instance, Singh claims Subbu failed to deliver on the various deals he was supposed to bring in. He argues that Subbu’s strategy to wait for that one big deal to come Argentum’s way was not practical. And that he would much rather the company got off the ground with whatever orders that came.

...If Subbu exits, Singh and Deora may find it easier to pursue a few real estate deals. They know that in spite of the real estate meltdown, the promoters are aware of the value the 210 acres of land the plant is built on commands. It is worth much more than the price they paid to acquire the business.

Arun Natarajan is the Founder & CEO of Venture Intelligence, the leading provider of data and analysis on private equity, venture capital and M&A deals in India. View free samples of Venture Intelligence newsletters and reports. Email the author at arun@ventureintelligence.in

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