The Board of Coffee Day Enterprises, which met after the death of its founder, chairman and MD VG Siddhartha Hegde, has appointed SV Ranganath as the interim chairman of the Board and Nitin Bagmane as interim chief operating officer (COO) of the Company on terms to be detailed and approved by the Board. Ranganath was Non-Executive Independent Director of Coffee Day.
The Board also announced the constitution of an executive committee comprising Ranganath, Nitin Bagmane and R. Ram Mohan (CFO) to exercise the powers previously vested with the chief executive officer (CEO) of the Company and the Administrative Committee constituted by the Board in 2015.
Nitin Bagmane was the Chairman of Coffee Day's real estate arm Tanglin, which is into building technology parks and special economic zones (SEZs).
Sources in the company said that the executive company will look to deleverage assets of SICAL Logistics, an integrated logistics solutions provider, of which Siddhartha was a promoter as well.
“The Board remains deeply committed to safeguarding the interests of all stakeholders, including investors, lenders, employees and customers,” it said in a regulatory filing.
The Board also said that it took cognisance of the statements made by Siddhartha in the letter he left behind, while stating that it’s authenticity is yet to be verified, and it is unclear whether these statements pertain to the Company or the personal holdings of Mr. V. G. Siddhartha. “…the Board took serious note of the same and resolved to thoroughly investigate this matter,” it added.
The Audit Committee and Executive Committee will engage in discussions with the statutory auditors of the Company and other such advisors as may be necessary with a view to recommend appropriate next steps to the Board at its forthcoming meeting on August 8.
The Board has also appointed Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas as its legal counsel to advise it on the foregoing and related matters.
“The Board noted with profound regrets the tragic demise of Mr. V. G. Siddhartha and his matchless energy, vision and business acumen which helped to single-handedly build the Company. The Board expressed its condolences to Mr. V. G. Siddhartha's family and resolved to lend its support and expressed full confidence in the Company's management team. The Board also took note of a message from Mrs. Malavika Hegde expressing support and trust in the Company's professional team and the common effort to look after the interest of the employees and all other stakeholders,” the filing further added.
Malavika Hegde is the wife of VG Siddhartha and is a non-executive director on the Board.
Siddhartha’s body was recovered at 6.30am on Wednesday morning, after he went missing in Mangaluru on Monday. A massive team of 100 firefighters, 100 policemen, 50 divers, 50 fishermen and 30 boats were involved in the search operations. His body is being taken to Wenlock Hospital for post-mortem.
Siddhartha, who is the son-in-law of former Union Minister and BJP leader SM Krishna, had gone missing in Mangaluru on Monday night near the Nethravathi river. According to the city police, the body was found on the bank of a river close to an ice plant at Hoige Bazar, over 9 kms away from the Nethravathi bridge.