Aziim Premji's investing acumen

Message

   Last
week there was news that Wipro’s Azim Premji has picked up a 10% stake
in retail chain Subhiksha Trading. It paid a whopping Rs.230 crore for
this small stake. The retail chain might be selling its goods at a
bargain, lowest prices but surely, it managed to sell a small stake at
such a hefty price. Smart negotiations indeed! 

What
is interesting is that Mr.Premji has purchased this stake in his own
personal capacity, though his private investment outfit – Premji
Invest. He purchased this stake from ICICI Ventures whose stake in
Subhiksha has now come down to 14%.  And
Mr.Premji seems to have a special panache for retail as he continues to
hold a 1.51% stake in Shoppers’ Stop too. He also has a 2% stake in
Kuotons Retail, which he had purchased in April08’ for about Rs 20
crore and prior to that, a 3% stake in Himatsingka Seide. 

One
cannot help but wonder what a man like Mr.Premji, who leads one of the
leading IT companies in India, would have to do with retail chains? But
if one sifts through this, maybe we should look at his vision, which
indicates that he is extremely bullish about the retail boom in India,
so much so that he wants to participate in it, beginning in a small way. 