Eveready powers up for life after debt, but the question of control remains

After hefty provisioning for inter-group loans, the Khaitan-managed company says it is back on track. But who will be in control from here on remains an open question

The iconic logo of the country’s largest dry cell battery maker, Eveready Industries India, — a black cat jumping through the figure 9 — sig­nifies the proverbial “nine lives” of a cat. The company has used up at least some of the lifelines.

The famous “Cat & 9” logo was launched in the 1930s by American company Union Carbide Corporation (UCC). In 1993, following one of the worst industrial disasters in Indian corporate history, the brand came into the Kolkata-based Brij Mohan Khaitan fold when it acquired Union Carbide India (renamed Eveready Industries India), beating the Wadias of Bombay Dyeing.