___

By continuing to use this site you consent to the use of cookies on your device as described in our Cookie
Policy unless you have disabled them. You can change your Cookie Settings at any time but parts of our
site will not function correctly without them.

BS APPS BS PRODUCTS BS E-PAPER BS LEARNING SIGN IN SUBSCRIBE

JUST IN Nifty P/E multiple up 50% from lows of March on 'benign liquidity' in mkt Search News,Stock Quotes or Companie

You are here: Home » Markets » News

Of D-Mart's IPO and the legend of

Radhakishan Damani
The company's numbers are exceptional, but the investing community will also bet on the promoter

Topics
Radhakishan Damani

Joydeep Ghosh & Rajesh Bhayani  |  Mumbai 

Last Updated at March 2, 2017 15:35 IST

86 4

Art of Stock Investing OPEN

Photo: Shutterstock

Reports say that whenever Rakesh Jhunjhunwala meets his mentor

ALSO READ
Radhakishan Damani, his favourite question is: “When are you
Jhunjhunwala's IPO bet fails
to click listing your company?” As Avenue Supermarts, the company which
operates the supermarket chain D-Mart, opens for IPO on March 8,
No promoter in driver's seat
Jhunjhunwala’s wait will come to an end.
at D-Mart

Big bull Rakesh
Jhunjhunwala loses magic
touch in 2016
Rakesh Jhunjhunwala's net
worth in listed rms crosses
Rs 10,000 cr
Free PDF Book on Indian
Stock
Art of Stock Investing
Checkout our Free videos at
YouTube channel "bse2nse"
bse2nse.com
It’s not only Jhunjhunwala who is looking forward to the listing of
his friend’s company, many other market players too are keenly
watching it. As a CEO of a leading fund house says: “After all, it is
the best-run company in the retail space. And of course, there is
Radhakishan Damani....”
There is a natural reverence amid market players for Damani. And
for a good reason. For years, many fund managers and seasoned
traders have followed the investments of “Mr White and White”, a
nickname Damani earned due to his penchant for wearing white
shirt and white trousers. Unlike the Bollywood director duo Abbas-
Mustan, who are always spotted in similar attire at lm functions
or in media interviews, Damani has stayed away from the spotlight.

OPEN For the uninitiated, 61-year-old Damani is one of the biggest names
in the Indian stock market and ranked 98th in the Forbes India Rich
List 2015 with a net worth of $1.15 billion. Much before D-Mart
happened, Damani was an ace stock market investor and mentor to 'Big Bull' Rakesh Jhunjhunwala.

Kisan R Choksey, an industry veteran since 1961 and chairman of KRChoksey group, said: “Damani is
known to look at fundamentals rst as an investor and he chooses companies after proper due
diligence. Hence, he has many followers in the market.” His strategy has been to identify and invest
substantially in stocks which become multi-baggers, and he has the patience to wait for ve to ten years.
Damani’s best investments include Gillette, VST Industries, Crisil and 3M India.

And of course, there are many stories that keep that legend intact. Two incidents speci cally merit a
mention: In the early nineties, when the original 'Big Bull', Harshad Mehta, kept taking the stock market
to new heights on a daily basis, Damani had short positions in the market. Mehta and Damani kept on
going in opposite directions till it was revealed that Mehta was siphoning money from the banks, and
the markets crashed. Damani kept his nerves and came out on top.

Just a few years later, he locked horns with Mehta again. This time, Mehta in his new avatar as an
advisor, helped push shares of select companies like BPL, Videocon and Sterlite. Damani was again in
the way. He shorted these stocks till the prices came crashing down.

However, he wasn’t happy just winning. As Deena Mehta, managing director of Asit C Mehta Investment
Intermediates and an industry veteran since 1984, said: “Even during this crisis, Damani was very helpful
to traders in trouble. Even though he was heavily short in these shares, he allowed exit to brokers and
traders who were long on these shares and sought his help.”

Damani and Jhunjhunwala have taken many long-term bets together. Both have sizeable holdings in
Aptech, Crisil and Delta Corp.

The investing community feels that Damani has built D-Mart's business with the same care and
conviction that he bet on his stocks with Kris Securities' Arun Kejriwal, who is a seasoned investor,
explained: “Initially, when there was only one D-Mart shop in Malad (a Mumbai suburb), I would
regularly visit it to buy and compare latest brands and trends. Often, there would be some salesperson
who would stand behind me while I was comparing. When I met Damani once, I told him that I felt a little
sti ed being watched like that. I have never seen anyone around me since then.”

Market players said that the company was looking to raise around Rs 1,800 crore for a stake sale of 10
per cent. According to these numbers, the valuation would be 40 times FY18 earnings, which seems rich,
but the company has the numbers to justify the valuation. It had a return on capital employed of 24.2
per cent in FY16, while the next best company in the retail space, Trent, was only at 3.6 per cent. And it
was the only company with a three-digit net pro t gure of Rs 318.9 crore, which no other listed peer
had last year.

Obviously, the grey market is already abuzz with expectations of hefty listing gains despite the steep
expected valuation, the stock is already making waves. Given that the Damani family will own over 80
per cent stake in the company, Damani will rise several notches on the Forbes rich list soon.

First Published: Thu, March 02 2017. 15:35 IST

READ MORE ON RADHAKISHAN DAMANI MARKETS NEWS

PREVIOUS STORY NEXT STORY

Women form less than 25% of Rate-sensitive sectors on a strong I'm very bu
most Indian companies' board, run since RBI's 40 bps repo rate next few y
says study cut

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Free PDF Book on Meet D-Marts DREAMS The four big stock Chandrakant
Indian Stock - Art… Radhakishan bets of Rakesh… Sampat: Grand old…
Damani, the silent…
Ad bse2nse.com business- Ad DREAMS business- business-
t d d standard com standard com

Promoted Stories
Turn Crisis Into Opportunity Your Child Can Be The Next Invest in Amazon from 200$.
With A Portfolio Of 15-18 Tech Innovator. Start Early! You could earn, up to $2000!
Multibagger Stocks CampK12 Don't miss this chance!
researchandranking.com Vici Marketing

Don’t wait, invest $200 in Discover the Most Expensive Discover the Most Expensive
Reliance Industries and earn Homes in London Homes in Los Angeles
weekly with a certi ed platform Mansion Global Mansion Global
Smart Investors
Recommended by

Commodities GO
Free PDF Book on Indian
Stock
Art of Stock Investing
Checkout our Free videos at YouTube
channel "bse2nse"
bse2nse.com

OPEN

MARKET

BSE

34731.73
523.68  (1.53 %)

NSE

10244.40
152.75  (1.51 %)

STOCK WATCH
 TOP GAINERS TOP LOSERS

BSE NSE

COMPANY

PRICE( )

CHG(%)

DISHMAN CARBOGEN

102.30

18.68

SHILPA MEDICARE

538.55

14.14

ITDC

226.60

10.00

PC JEWELLER

17.18

9.99

TEJAS NETWORKS

51.85

9.97

> More on BSE Gainers

LATEST NEWS

IN THIS SECTION ALL

Investing in global
funds will provide
diversi cation, better
returns
Divi's Laboratories:
Margins likely to remain
subdued, say analysts

Speculative bets rise on

Voda Idea as investors,
traders eye quick gains

Titan's Q4 margin
surprise fails to impress
over pressure in jewellery
biz
Bond and currency dealers
baulk at the thought of
joining back o ce
 More >

MOST POPULAR

READ SHARE COMMENTED

Prove nancial
capability: Cidco puts GVK
in dock over Navi Mumbai
airport Buy Natural Beauty Products
6 PSUs now 'fallen angels' Give your Skin & Hair the Natural
after India's sovereign Care with Mamaearth Cruelty-free
Products.
rating cut: Moody's

PNB buys 3 Audi cars

worth Rs 1.34 cr for
management amid Covid-
19 crisis
Covid-19 crisis: Drug sales
in May down 9%, scal
growth to be at

Adani Green now India's

largest renewable energy
rm, aims 25 GW capacity

DERIVATIVES

INDEX STOCK

INDEX Select

INSTRUMENT TYPE Select

EXPIRY DATE Select

OPTION TYPE Select

STRIKE PRICE Select

SUBMIT
Opinion Privacy Policy My Page SPORTS
Politics Cookie Policy Portfolio Cricket
Technology Disclaimer Register Football
Specials Investor Subscribe ICC World Test
Personal Finance Communication Custom Payment Championship
Latest News List of our GST India vs Bangladesh
registration number
Today's Paper
BS PRODUCTS
RBI Policy
CONNECT WITH BS
Smart Investor
General News SUPPORT &
CONTACT BS Hindi
General Videos Facebook
BS Motoring
General Photo Gallery Partner with Us
BS Books Telegram
Events Careers
B2B Connect
Authors Advertise with Us Linkedin
iPhone
Education Contact Us
iPad Twitter
Feedback
android Youtube
Browser Support
Mobile Browser
Sitemap
RSS

EVENT

Insurance Round Table

2020
 New New MARKET NEWS

FDI from Cayman Islands to India jumps

three-fold to $3.7 bn in 2019-20
India had received FDI worth $1 billion in
2018-19 and $1.23 billion in 2017-18 from
the Cayman Islands, which is UK ...

New New Market Wrap, June 9: Here's all that

happened in the markets today

E-vote on winding up Franklin Templeton

MF's debt schemes suspended

ITC advances 4%, hits over 3-month high;

stock surges 30% in one month
New New
Web Exclusive After 16% rally in three
weeks, analysts turn cautious on small-
caps

» More

screener.in

Undervalued and growth stocks OPEN

MORE ON MARKETS:
QUICK LINKS BROWSE STOCK COMPANIES

STOCK MARKET LIVE STOCK MARKET NEWS A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O

P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

PORTFOLIO DERIVATIVES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

BROWSE MUTUAL FUNDS

COMMODITY MARKET MUTUAL FUNDS

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O
UPCOMING IPO GOLD PRICE
P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

PERSONAL FINANCE SENSEX

INDEX STOCKS

Adani Ports Asian Paints Axis Bank BPCL Bajaj Auto Bajaj Finance Ltd Bajaj Finserv Bharti Airtel Bharti Infra.
Cipla Coal India Dr Reddy's Labs Eicher Motors GAIL (India) Grasim Inds HDFC HCL Technologies HDFC Bank
Hero Motocorp Hind. Unilever Hindalco Inds. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd ICICI Bank
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. IndusInd Bank Infosys ITC JSW Steel Kotak Mah. Bank Larsen & Toubro M&M
Maruti Suzuki Nestle India Ltd. NTPC ONGC Power Grid Corpn Reliance Inds. Shree Cement St Bk of India
Sun Pharma. Inds. Tata Motors Tata Steel TCS Tech Mahindra Titan Company UltraTech Cement Ltd UPL Ltd
Wipro Zee Entertainment

TRENDING ON BS #Coronavirus #GaribKalyanRojgar #MukeshAmbani #IndiaChinaDispute

FROM BS WEBSITE ABOUT US READER CENTRE BUDGET 2020

Home About Us Assistance Elections 2020

Companies Code of Conduct E-Paper Lok Sabha Elections 2019
Markets Terms & Conditions Manage My Account