Jute baron Bajoria is no more

Jute baron, takeover tycoon and owner of a clutch of stock investment and property companies as well as of the Hoogly Group of Jute Mills and Industries, Arun Kumar Bajoria died in the early hours of Friday at Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai. He was 63.

In the last decade of his life, Bajoria had evolved into one of the canniest private investor on the stock market, setting up a clutch of investment companies to identify and corner shares in companies which promised good returns.

He favoured companies with a high percentage of floating stocks, which very often coincided with low promoter's holding. He then cornered the shares to push up the share value and made an exit booking hefty profits.

Most of these deals were done quietly. But the case of Bombay Dyeing was very different. His actions led to one of the fiercest battles in corporate India between Bajoria and promoter Nusli Wadia. Like always, Bajoria exited at a profit because the company's share price had shot through the roof.