In an interview to Business Standard, Srichand P Hinduja, or SP as he is commonly known, said the deal was just another day in the Hinduja Group's history.
Is this the biggest deal your group has been involved in so far?
It is one of the biggest deals. We had bought Gulf Oil in the 90s (the group had bought London-based Gulf Oil International in 1992 for an undisclosed sum).
How will the acquisition of private bank KBL epb fit into your banking interests in Europe and India?
We hope to address the private banking needs of clients internationally and facilitate capital flows between fast-growing economies and established Western financial markets.
KBL epb has a very unique business model that is currently not prevalent in a country like India. Each of the markets it is present in has its own regulatory body and local customers, etc. We will have to see how this can be fit into the east (India and other Asian markets).
How did this deal come about?
Our group has always been a banker/investor/trader. We are Shikarpuris from the Sindh region, which is also the root for banking and trading (in the east). It is nothing new to us. From inception, we have been investors and bankers.
The group has had its share of ups and downs in India. (The Hinduja brothers were embroiled in the Bofors scandal in the 80s and were vindicated by an Indian court in 2005).
There were never ups and down. Only ups. Buying of Gulf Oil, Ashok Leyland, and setting up of two banks. Nothing (wrong) was ever proved. We have been going against the current to bring about and participate in a free-market economy, to fight corruption.