VG Siddhartha the owner and founder of the largest coffee chain in India, Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) was found dead after going missing for nearly 48 hours.
His body was discovered from the Netravati river after more than 30 hours of search followed by a complaint from his driver on Wednesday at 6.30am.Commissioner of Police (Mangaluru) Sandeep Patil, directed the police personn01el to send the body to government-run Wenlock Hospital to conduct a post-mortem. He was las seen near Netravati dam site on Monday. His death is supposedly a suicide.
In his supposedly last letter to Cafe Coffee Day Board Of Directers and CCD family, Siddhartha said that he had “failed to create the right profitable business model” despite his best efforts. The authenticity of the letter is not confirmed.
The business tycoon in his letter said to quit his life and succumbed to the situation under tremendous pressure for a long time.”I have given up as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares. A transaction I had partially completed six months ago by borrowing a large sum of money from a friend. Tremendous pressure from other lenders leads to me succumbing to the situation. There was a lot of harassment from the previous DG income tax in the form of attaching our shares on two separate occasions to block our Mindtree deal and then taken possession of our Coffee Day shares, although the revised returns have been filed by us. This was very unfair and has led to a serious liquidity crunch,” Siddhartha wrote in his letter.
VG Siddhartha the Caffe chain owner started with 1 caffe in 1996 and today the number is 1752. Despite the success, Siddhartha in his last letter said the caffe chain faced huge liabilities and he could not revert the crisis and as a result was compelled to take extreme steps.CCD headquarter will remain closed for two days and CCD outlets in the district are closed for the day.
People pour in to pay their last respect to the coffee king in ABC company office premises where his mortal remains were laid for that purpose. His last rites will be performed in his estate in Chikkamagaluru at 6.30 pm today.
People from politicians to industrialists everyone convey their shock over his demise and relays condolence to his family.
Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa said, “He was a simple man, a pioneer in popularising Indian coffee in the world. I can’t even imagine why a person who would have been under the guidance of SM Krishna Ji ended his life. I give my tributes to his family.”
Biocon MD Kiran Mazumdar Shaw reacts to the shocking news, “Coffee Day Owner Alleged Harassment By Tax Officer In Letter: Report – Such a shocking and sad end to a quiet an unassuming pioneer who started the coffee cafes business ahead of Starbucks in India”.
Snapdeal co-founder and CEO Kunal Bahl say he will remember Siddhartha as a successful entrepreneur, “So heartbreaking. I had met him a few times – an absolute gentleman. How can someone get pushed so far to the edge in business, that they decide to take a fall themselves. I will always see his legacy as a very successful entrepreneur who brought coffee in our lives. My prayers”.
People across the country mourn the shocking demise of legendary entrepreneur and the loss of a pioneer in India’s business arena.
Facebook Comments