When street fighter Manu Chhabria laid siege to Shaw Wallace

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₹1,200 crore. It presented an enviable opportunity for both Jumbo and United Breweries. As it turned out, Chhabria used Mallya as collateral.

He lured the self-proclaimed liquor baron into believing they could aim for joint ownership of SWC. Mallya, too, needed Chhabria to buy the foreign holding in SWC since Indian companies were not allowed to do that. As a marriage of convenience, there was little trust between them, with each man only using the other to further his interest.

A happy ending with the two brash tycoons walking arm in arm whispering “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" was unlikely. Chhabrias’s path to SWC had begun with a fortuitous discovery. In 1985, he learned that a 20% stake in SWC held by a Hong Kong-based company was up for grabs.

Sensing an opportunity, he quietly accumulated shares through a web of overseas companies to avoid triggering India's stringent takeover regulations. The stealth caught SWC’s board off-guard. By the time they realised the threat, he had built a controlling interest.

In a dramatic courtroom showdown that was grist for newspaper reporters, in 1985, Chhabria installed himself as chairman, ousting the redoubtable S. P. Acharya, who knew the company like the back of his hand, having swivelled from assistant accountant to chairman in the course of a glorious career.

Eventually, Chhabria turned the tables on the defiant Acharya, accusing him of milking the company dry even as he struggled to stave off the hostile bid. By 1985, he had a 39.5% stake in the company, and Shaw Wallace finally belonged to him. Following the takeover, the elegant Raj-era SWC building in Kolkata’s Dalhousie Square quickly got rid of its teak and mahogany and got in marble and