Why did Purnendu Chatterjee, popularly called PC, step aside when the European Union went ahead with the Basell transaction with Access Industries?
Because, says the man himself, his first task on hand was to save Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd. To be sure, PC has much to thank Basell for.
The petrochemicals company, the largest manufacturer of polymers in the world, was handed on platter to a consortium of buyers that included Chatterjee and Russian billionaire Leonard Blavatnik -- and catapulted him into the status of media darling in the country of his birth.
"The deal on Basell has to be closed by August 1 because that transaction has its own dynamics -- and we cannot be part of the deal by that date," he told Business Standard candidly.
So wasn't it humbling to drop out of the Basell transaction?
"The deal being done now has nothing to do with us -- our entry will be based on a decision-making process that happens later," says Chatterjee, reiterating, "my first priority was to put Haldia Petrochemicals back on its feet."
The Chatterjee Group (TCG) is, however, helping Access on the deal because it has the right skills for the job, he says.
Chatterjee's stand on Basell is clear -- the deal was under the European Union regulator and could not be deferred.
Nor could the EU be expected to accept an argument that more time be granted to close the transaction -- till TCG signed its own deal with the government of West Bengal and acquired control of Haldia Petrochemicals and then joined the consortium to do the deal.
The EU is not concerned with any underlying agreement behind the deal -- its priority was to do the deal by August, he clarifies.
Of course life has not been simple for PC. Despite best efforts, negotiations with the government of West Bengal to acquire its shares in Haldia Petrochemicals and take complete control of the now-healthy petrochem unit have been progressing slowly.
"The government of West Bengal is in no way connected to my decision on Basell -- the government cannot be expected to be part of a major business transaction," he admits.
But it was his belief that the government should have no role in business that appears to have raised hackles the government of West Bengal.
PC himself refuses to comment on the issue, but insiders say there was clearly some interested parties in the scene who would like the problems in Haldia Petrochemicals to continue and scuttle any settlement between the government and TCG.
PC himself says that he is most keen to put all the bitterness to rest and cut a deal with the government.
Haldia has occupied all his time in the last 45 days, says PC, but, as he admits, he has learnt that negotiations with the government take their own time.
The time cycles of the two deals -- Basell and Haldia Petrochemicals -- did not match, and so PC acted typically to see a priority and stick to it, says a Kolkata-based advisor.
The preference accorded to the Haldia deal might dismay outsiders, but it meant that the New York and Mumbai-based non-resident fund manager was focused on making Haldia Petro tick.
No Basell deal is possible till the government is out of Haldia Petrochemicals, and even then the involvement would require the approval of each and every lender of the company.
To be honest, many lenders were reluctant to back the deal in the first place. PC stuck to his knitting and decided to save Haldia Petro first before plunging into the challenge of attempting a leveraged buy-out of Basell, say his friends.
As for his enemies, they are still trying to guess if he has lost his deal-making skills and appetite for new risks.
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