Manoj Tirodkar: Tower power

His business associates call him sagacious, humble and hands-on. Some admire him for his single-minded obsession with value creation. Others are still wary of his chequered past. Adjectives do not define Manoj Tirodkar, the 45-year-old chairman and managing director of GTL Group, even when the much-hyped merger with RCom’s 50,000 towers failed earlier this week. Yes, there is disappointment at losing the opportunity to create one of the largest independent tower companies in the world with over 80,000 towers.

But, Tirodkar doesn’t wear that disappointment on his sleeve. “Theek hain... kuch aur sauchenge... karenge (It’s alright, we’ll think of something else to do),” he says. It’s all about reorienting his team that’s been focused on this transaction for almost eight months. But, it was always going to be a difficult deal. Scale, financing, leverage and management issues were always to be the potential deal breakers. Issues like shareholding, management rights and board seats and promoter guarantees to the bank became walls that could not be broken down.

So, what now? Seeking more opportunities for sure in India, maybe even abroad. Tirodkar is a restless man. A trait that has seen him transcend his humble beginning in the chawls of Mumbai’s Girgaum as a charting broker in the shipping industry to the Forbes rich list, sharing ranks with Nimesh Kampani or PRS ‘Bikki’ Oberoi. While the integration of GTL and Aircel goes on in what was another record M&A — the largest ever cash transaction in India — bankers will now troop in to show more deals and even PE investors queue up for a slice of GTL’s towering story.