Vijay Mallya’s mansion on Bangalore’s Vittal Mallya Road (named after his father) is something of an icon. Autorickshaws use it as a landmark to give you directions. “Take a left from Vijay Mallya’s house”, “Go right after you cross the Mallya mansion”, and so on. The four-acre property is now getting overshadowed by enormous buildings rising rapidly around it, but all of them owned by the chairman of United Breweries himself.

On the other side of the road is a small apartment building. In a penthouse on its seventh floor lives G.R. Gopinath, executive chairman of Air Deccan. If the walls of Mallya’s mansion weren’t as high as they are, Gopinath could actually keep an eye on Mallya’s backyard (if he so wished).

One of the off-shoots of Vittal Mallya road is Vittal Mallya lane. As Gopinath gradually rose in fame, stature and wealth, he bought a small bungalow on this quiet lane, with two walls in common with Mallya’s mansion. “If we get any closer, we’ll be in bed together!” says Mallya, with a twinkle in his eye.

That is almost exactly what happened on May 31, when Mallya acquired a 26 per cent stake in Bangalore-based Air Deccan for Rs 550 crore. It was a quick deal, signed and sealed in an incredible three days.

The Run-up To The Deal
The deal was struck at 4.45 a.m., after a 45-minute conversation between Mallya and Gopinath. Calling from the southern coast of France at 4 a.m. on 29 May, Mallya was quick, to-the-point and persuasive.

Four days earlier and virtually days before final closure with the Mumbai-based Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), a senior Karnataka minister had called up Gopinath and tried to persuade him to allow Mallya to make an offer, sources close to the deal told BW. The minister didn’t elaborate but it was understood that it would be in the interest of Karnataka, too, if Gopinath sold to Mallya rather than Ambani. If Ambani bought the airline, chances were that sooner or later, Air Deccan’s base and headquarter would not remain in Bangalore. (When contacted by BW, a spokesman for Reliance ADAG denied that it had bid for Air Deccan at all.)