Vijay Mallya: King of good times?

Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya has been floundering in rough weather for more than 3 years, but 2014 saw his fortunes hit a new low. From being declared a willful defaulter, to losing control of his flagship company, Mallya was in the news in 2014 for all the wrong reasons reports CNBC-TV18's Poornima Murali and Archana Shukla. He was known as the king of good times. However 2014 saw him pitted against one headwind after another, forcing Vijay Mallya to abdicate that throne. The first knock came in the form of British spirits maker Diageo, which launched an open offer to increase its stake in Mallya's United Spirits. The Rs 11,449 crore open offer increased Diageo's holding to 55 percent from 29 percent, and made USL Diageo's subsidiary, sidelining Mallya's role and control in the company.This was followed by another jolt: United Bank of India declared Mallya and three other directors of Kingfisher Airlines as "willful defaulters" following the non-payment of Rs 400 crore in dues. This led to yet another spate of visits to the courthouse.Vijay Mallya Chairman, UB Group said, "We strongly deny the allegations made, that we disagree with the findings of their grievance redressal committee before which we have had no opportunity to appear and we shall pursue all available legal remedies."That war rages on, with Mallya winning a few battles, but still miles away from a clear victory. However it isn't just United Bank of India that has drawn blood. For the non-payment of Rs 6,500 crore Kingfisher Airlines owes to over 17 banks, State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank have also named Mallya a willful defaulter. The airline, of course, which was already facing quite a bit of turbulence, has pretty much gone belly-up.However Mallya's troubles are far from over. 2014 also saw Diageo, which now enjoys control of United Spirits, initiate an enquiry into the loans given by United Spirits to UB Group companies. But even as Diageo embarked on a clean-up of the company's finances, which showed a net loss of Rs 4,488 crore in FY14, Mallya was unfazed."There has been a proper enquiry instituted under the charge of the MD & CEO. The results will be obviously known. All the comments have been made by the auditors and the notes, accounts go into further detail of explanation," said Mallya.Now though Mallya may count his re-appointment as the chairman of United Spirits as a victory, the company remains under a cloud. It has written off Rs 4,359 crore over the last 6 months, eroding its networth by half in the process. Also, related party transactions worth Rs 3,612 crore with Mallya's other companies have been voted down by discontent public shareholders. While the company is trying to get these passed through a second extraordinary general meeting scheduled for the January 9 2015, Mallya's grand plans have clearly gone awry. Now, Mallya may soon lose control of one more company - Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers.Surrounded by controversy, Vijay Mallya has had to quit as director of Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers, and his hold of that company remains tenuous at best. This, after rival Deepak Fertilizers open offer only managed to help it hike its stake to 32 percent, while Mallya's counter offer, launched with the help of Kolkata-based industrialist Saroj Poddar, put their combined stake in the company at around 38 percent.

Also, the ministry of corporate affairs has rejected the carriers application to reappoint Mallya as its managing director.