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Billionaire Ambani brothers agree to compete
By ERIKA KINETZ,AP Business Writer -
Monday, May 24
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MUMBAI, India – Feuding brothers Mukesh and Anil Ambani moved toward reconciliation Sunday by agreeing to cancel a family non-compete agreement, paving the way for the resolution of a long-running gas dispute and potentially opening some of India's fastest-growing industries, like financial services, to fresh competition.
The brothers' companies "have today approved and signed an Agreement canceling all existing non-compete arrangements," Mukesh's Reliance Industries and Anil's ADA Group companies said in nearly identical statements Sunday.
They have instead agreed to a restricted non-competition agreement, in which Reliance Industries will stay out of gas-based power generation _ a mainstay business for Anil _ through March 31, 2022, except for its captive gas power plants.
The companies said the deal has been approved by their respective boards of directors.
The arrangement comes on the heels of a Supreme Court ruling that a family agreement executed in 2006 _ which contained the non-compete clauses and mandated that Mukesh sell Anil natural gas for roughly half the government-set rate _ was essentially void.
The court ordered the brothers to negotiate a fresh agreement within six weeks.
The companies vowed Sunday to "expeditiously" negotiate a new gas supply arrangement and said they "hope to conclude these negotiations very soon."
The mysterious family agreement, which has never been made public, divided the sprawling empire of patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani, who died without leaving a will.
It carved up some of India's most valuable industries, allocating core oil and gas interests to Mukesh, while reserving power, telecommunications, entertainment and financial services for younger brother Anil.
Today, Mukesh's holdings are far more profitable and highly valued than his brother's.
Now all that seems to be off the table.
"The cancellation of the existing non-compete Agreement as above will provide enhanced operational and financial flexibility to both groups, and greater ability to participate in high growth sectors of the Indian economy, such as oil and gas, petrochemicals, telecommunications, power, and financial services," the companies said in their statements.
The five-year Ambani dispute has tested government power against the sanctity of a private contract and raised questions about the influence tycoons can wield over policymakers.
Now many observers hope _ some still a bit skeptically _ that this new accord will soon bring peace to the riven family and get gas from India's largest known deposit flowing faster.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court came down squarely in favor of the government's right to price gas, potentially handing Mukesh _ already India's richest man _ a multibillion dollar windfall.
Analysts said canceling the non-compete agreement could be a further boon to Mukesh, an astute and efficient player who is now free to use his pile of cash to plow into high-growth sectors, like financial services.
"It's a positive for Reliance Industries," said Deepak Pareek, analyst at Mumbai's Angel Broking. "RIL is likely to engage huge cash flows going ahead. With this non-compete agreement out of the picture, they can pursue similar business opportunities as the Anil Ambani group."
Unleashing competition could also benefit Anil, by freeing him to go forward with deals like his scuttled 2008 attempt to merge Reliance Communications with South Africa's MTN Group. He called off talks after Mukesh threatened to block the merger based on the family agreement, which he said gave him first option to buy shares in Reliance Communications.
"It's a win-win for both," Pareek said. "This might be a revolution for all the issues between the groups."
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