Ambani rivalry under scanner of Western media

More than the potential deal between South African telecom giant MTN
and Anil Ambani group firm RCOM, it's the rivalry between the Ambani
brothers that has caught the fancy of Western media which compares it
to a potboiler penned by fiction writer Jeffrey Archer.

As the time draws closer to the expiry of exclusivity agreement
between RCOM and MTN for negotiations, one newspaper after another in
Britain and the US is commenting on the eruption of a battle between
the two richest brothers in the world.

The controversy over the possible deal started with Mukesh Ambani-led
Reliance Industries asserting its Right of First Refusal over the
younger brother's company with legal notices to RCOM and MTN in the
midst of negotiation for a deal that could create a 70 billion dollar
entity.

While the UK's The Independent termed it like one of famed novelist
Jeffrey Archer's potboilers, a Financial Times columnist said the spat
could make a "passable B movie." Almost all of them felt it is all
about one-oneupmanship between the two.

As The Independent put things in a future perspective, "The next
installment in the Ambani saga will show whether the rivalry between
the two continues to drive both to still greater achievements - or
whether, like a character in a Jeffrey Archer novel, only one can
succeed."

But tension has been flaring up between the two all the time in these
three years (since they parted ways), with both of them trying to
steal the show from each other in areas ranging from construction and
telecom to entertainment, writes a senior journalist at international
business magazine Fortune.

In its write-up, UK's The Sunday Times said, "What kind of man travels
halfway round the world to sabotage the biggest deal of our career...
and then threatens you with legal action? For supporters of Anil
Ambani, the second richest man in India, the answer is 'your older
brother."

One of the articles brought about the contrast in the Ambanis' fight,
by touching upon the differences between steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal
and his brother Pramod Mittal, both of whom managed to keep sensitive
family issues away from the spotlight.


The Sunday Times says India is "no stranger to sibling rivalry, but
this (Ambani) feud has enthralled the country's business community."

The diverse views are reminiscent of the media's scrutiny of the
Ambani family feud, with writings drawing comparisons on personal
fortunes to family fights in India.

"My EBITDA is bigger than yours. Is this what the latest spat between
the two Ambani brothers boils down to?" questioned a columnist of the
British daily Financial Times.