Of the many words used to describe tycoon T Ananda Krishnan’s corporate manoeuvres, the one that seems to crop up the most is “wrong-footed”.
Like a magician who uses sleight of hand to conceal the cards up his sleeve, Ananda concealed his privatisation of Tanjong plc behind the expected privatisation of Measat Global Bhd, and caught the market off guard, yet again.
It was a similar scenario three years ago when on May 3, it was announced that Ananda, through his Usaha Tegas group, was privatising Maxis Communications Bhd for RM39.9 billion. The surprise was that it was another of his companies, Astro All Asia Networks plc, which the market had expected to be on the privatisation train.
Ananda did eventually end up privatising Astro and re-listing Maxis with much fanfare. Even so, events show clearly that Ananda will not hesitate to pull the rug from under your feet when you least expect it.
However, of all the deals that Ananda has sealed over the years, none is more significant than his first major coup that had to do with the iconic Twin Towers that now define Kuala Lumpur’s skyline.
In the early nineties Ananda had been tasked by former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad to develop what was formerly the Selangor Turf Club into what would eventually become the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC).
It is learnt that Ananda acquired the 96.4 acre site for RM110 million through a private company known as Sri Kuda Sdn Bhd, and then paid City Hall an additional RM320 million for the land conversion premium.
The sheer magnitude and importance of the project meant that a number of foreign investors had already been in contact with Ananda to discuss a potential partnership. However, Mahathir was intent on keeping the project in the country so national oil company Petronas became Ananda’s partner, although talk was that the match was not by mutual agreement.
Petronas bought into Sri Kuda for RM681 million for a 51% stake, and the company later became KLCC Holdings Sdn Bhd.
The eventual punch line is that once the project was complete, Ananda sold his 49% share back to Petronas. While no official figures were made known, reports placed the price tag at some RM1.2 billion.
Although the actual price will remain a mystery, what Ananda subsequently did with the funds is clear to see in the empire that he has built. He became a contender in telecommunications and broadcasting with the launch of Measat-1 in 1996, a risky gamble that eventually paid off. His portfolio is backed by other regulated assets in the form of power and gaming, all known to eventually yield cash rich coffers.
Despite the prominence of his listed companies, Ananda himself is famously media shy, a trait that he shares with friend “Sugar King” Tan Sri Robert Kuok. Although his business career spans decades, Ananda has only spoken to the media twice according to reports — Singapore’s Business Times in 1994 and Malaysia’s Business Times in 1996. According to industry sources, the second interview was at the behest of Mahathir to quiet the critics who frowned upon Ananda being given the satellite licence.
Although the matter that its delicately tiptoed around, Ananda’s political ties are rarely refuted. Among the most notable of his friendships, beyond Mahathir, is that with Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah, who asked for Ananda’s help in the establishment of Petronas according to press reports.
However, as hard as it is to get to Ananda now, if he is successful in his privatisation of both Measat and Tanjong (leaving Maxis Bhd as his sole listed vehicle), the wall already surrounding him will become that much higher.
Ananda’s style of business is anything but quiet. According to published accounts, Ananda is tough and no-nonsense when it comes to brokering deals and has no qualms about getting confrontational.
He also does not hold any sentimentality for any of his businesses, which implies that he will not hold on if there is a better deal in store. Another similarity that he shares with Kuok is a meticulous eye for detail when it comes to overseeing projects.
His single-mindedness can be seen from the routine he keeps, where he consistently squeezes in a 40-minute swim in between breakfast and his first of many meetings, according to reports.
And yet, Ananda’s US investments hint at a penchant beyond his cut-and-dried regulated Malaysian businesses. It has been reported that his US investments include a basketball manufacturer and an air rifle maker among others. It also caused a stir last year when it was reported that Ananda was in talks to buy the Newcastle United Football club in the UK. The report was then swiftly refuted.
Regardless, when Ananda moves, the ground has a tendency to shake, no mean feat for a businessman of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. Born in Brickfields and the eldest of three sons, Ananda – whose father was a senior civil servant — attended Victoria Institution before attending Melbourne University on a Colombo Plan scholarship.
After graduation, Ananda returned to Malaysia for a few years before attending Harvard Business School for his MBA, which is where he nurtured an influential network of friends and business contacts.
With his MBA in hand, Ananda then broke into oil trading, establishing Exoil Trading Ltd, which essentially was where his earliest seed money came from.
And the rest as they say is history.
This article appeared in Corporate page, The Edge Malaysia, Issue 817, Aug 2-8, 2010