How Kuldip Singh Dhingra, a 'shopkeeper' from Amritsar, bought Berger Paints from Vijay Mallya

“I did not know anything about Berger except maybe the turnover and the fact that it was a professional multinational,” said Kuldip.

Going back to that early February morning in 1990, Surinder said he was sceptical about Kuldip’s keenness to buy Berger. Kuldip did not know the details of the business units, the production in various factories, the debt Berger had on its books.

“In short, he knew nothing except the brand and the turnover. It was like looking at a car and wanting to buy it without going on a test drive or even checking how much of mileage it had done already,” said Surinder.

Gurbachan remembered that when Kuldip and he first spoke to Surinder, the instinctive response was, “Tussi tan dukaandaar ho, company kis terhan sambhaaloge [You guys are shopkeepers. How will you manage a company]?”

“I knew they were doing well in exports but Berger was a multinational. I wondered if Kuldip had the wherewithal to buy such a company,” admitted Surinder. Surinder Singh today is one of the largest distributors of liquor in India. He is also one of the largest importers of wines and other liquor.

He had started his business when Vijay Mallya’s father was running the show. He had,...

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