Dealmaking Behind Bars
In July, Roy sought and received court permission to use his prison’s guest house to negotiate the sale of the overseas hotels. He also gained secretarial assistance, phone, video conferencing and others facilities for discussions about selling stakes.
Pune-based billionaire Cyrus Poonawalla, owner of the world’s biggest vaccine maker Serum Institute of India, as well as the Sultan of Brunei were said to be interested in buying the hotels. No agreements were reached, though.
Roy, who is called “Sahara Sri”, built an empire over the past 35 years that included overseas hotels, television stations, a hospital, a dairy farm, retail shops and a stake in India’s only Formula One racing team. He built his business by collecting amounts as small as 32 cents every day from rickshaw pullers, laundry washers and tire repairmen.
Roy’s arrest at the end of February came as part of a dispute in which Sebi faulted Sahara for selling a convertible debt instrument without its approval. The top court ordered a refund of 240 billion rupees that Sahara group firms had raised from 30 million depositors. Sahara has been seeking to convince the court that it has complied with the order, while the regulator says it has been unable to verify that.
Article Appeared @http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-02/new-york-plaza-mortgage-sought-by-jailed-indian-owner-for-bail.html