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AB corp, erstwhile Amitabh Bachchan Corporation Limited,
is all set to go public. Over ten years ago, Amitabh
set up this company to 'corporatise' filmmaking coinciding
with the time of his comeback. Plans went awry and ABCL
was left with debts of crores and huge losses, being
declared a sick company. Bachchan's 'Kaun Banega Crorepati'
and the large number of endorsements, with support from
Sahara and the Amar Singh faction, helped ABCL get back
on its feet again.
Now ABCL has plans to go public and get listed on
BSE and NSE. Sources also said that a little before
Amitabh was hospitalised, there was a meeting with investment
banks. ABCL was originally formed in 1987, after merging
Sopan Leasing, a subsidiary of Tansi Investments owned
by Amitabh, Jaya and Amitabh’s estranged brother,
Ajitabh Bachchan. However, the company existed only
on paper till 1994. Besides, Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan,
HFCL promoter Vinay Maloo also holds around 30% equity
in AB Corp.
There are also talks about Anil Ambani being in talks
to acquire a stake in ABCL. Anil Ambani has always had
more than a passing interest in showbusiness and over
the last one year, has acquired a stake in Manmohan
Shetty's Adlabs films. Adlabs, headed by Manmohan Shetty
is into film processing, film financing and exhibition.
Buying a stake in ABCL would make synergistic sense
for him, say sources, since ABCL is a established production
house. Sources also added that if the deal materialised.
Ambani may get stock at a price lower than the IPO price.
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