Mallya is like a kid in a toy store, says Air Deccan chief

Bangalore: Capt. G R Gopinath managing director of Air Deccan ruled out a strategic sale to Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines.
The flamboyant Mallya, 51, who owns the world’s third-largest distiller in UB Group, said earlier this month that his upmarket Kingfisher Airlines is interested in buying Air Deccan.
Gopinath, who spurned the overture saying a marriage between the two airlines did not make business or cultural sense, again ruled out a sale to Kingfisher, likening Mallya to “a kid in a toy store” who wants to buy everything in sight.
“It was very presumptuous on his part,” said Gopinath, whose praise of Mallya at the ensuing second-anniversary celebration of Kingfisher raised speculation that he may have changed his mind.
Not only were he and Mallya “totally different people” but their visions and culture did not match, said Gopinath.
16/05/07 Gulf Times, Qatar

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Air Deccan May 2007, Kingfisher May 2007