German billionaire kills himself

[Sir X]

German billionaire kills himself


Mr Merckle had lost heavily on Volkswagen shares in 2008


German billionaire Adolf Merckle has committed suicide after his business empire ran into trouble in the global economic slowdown.
In a statement his family said he had been "broken" by the financial crisis, and had taken his own life.
Mr Merckle ran up losses of about 400m euros (£363m;$535m) last year due to wrong-way bets on Volkswagen shares.
He was ranked as the world's 94th richest person in 2008, and his family controls a number of German companies.
The 74-year-old's body was found on Monday near railway tracks in southern Germany. Officials said there was no evidence that anyone else was to blame.
Volkswagen losses
His family, which had reported him missing after he failed to return home, said in a statement: "Adolf Merckle lived and worked for his family and his firms."
"The distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate family businessman, and he ended his life." MERCKLE BUSINESS INTERESTS
Phoenix Pharmahandel, drugs wholesaler with annual sales of 21bn euros
Heidelberg Cement, cement firm with annual sales of 11bn euros
Ratiopharm, generic drugs firm with annual sales of 1.8bn euros
Kaessbohrer ski slope equipment firm with annual sales of 183m euros
VEM, bought in 1997, includes three engine makers with annual sales of 280m euros


Mr Merckle's business interests included the generic drugs maker Ratiopharm and the cement maker Heidelberg Cement.
In all, his business conglomerate has about 100,000 employees and in 2008 reported 30bn euros in annual sales.
His holding company had recently been in talks with banks to secure credit after it ran up high levels of debt amid the global financial crisis.
The holding company said it had suffered heavy losses on investments in shares of the carmaker Volkswagen, which fluctuated wildly in value late last year as rival car company Porsche moved to increase its stake in VW.
Mr Merckle had helped turn his grandfather's chemical wholesale company into one of Germany's biggest pharmaceutical wholesalers, Phoenix Pharmahandel, in which he held a 57% stake.
He used his wealth, estimated by Forbes magazine last year to be $9.2bn, to take stakes in Heidelberg Cement and Ratiopharm. Mr Merckle also owned stakes in companies that made a wide array of goods including all-terrain vehicles, software and textiles. He is survived by his four children.

[Sir X]

India IT boss quits over scandal

India IT boss quits over scandal


Mr Raju said he would subject himself to the laws of the land


The boss of Satyam, India's fourth-biggest software firm, has resigned after revealing financial irregularities in the firm's accounts.
Chairman Ramalinga Raju apologised and said "the gap in the balance sheet has arisen purely on account of inflated profits" during several years.
He said he was subjecting himself to the laws of the land and would "face the consequences".
India's benchmark index fell nearly 7% on the news, as Satyam stock shed 82%.
In a letter to the board of directors, Mr Raju said that neither he nor the managing director took any money from the company and did not benefit in financial terms following the "inflated results".
It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten


Ramalinga Raju, chairman and founder, Satyam


He added that no board member had been aware of the situation the firm was in.
"What started as a marginal gap between actual operating profits and the one reflected in the books of accounts continued to grow over the years," said Mr Ramalinga's statement, which was sent to the stock exchange.
"It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten," he said.
Satyam specialises in business software and benefited from the IT outsourcing boom.
'Fictitious assets'
The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says analysts see this as one of the worst crises to have hit corporate India, at a time when it was hoping to attract foreign investors looking for quick gains in emerging markets.
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Letter from Ramalinga Raju [157KB]

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Our correspondent says many fear that the international community will now take a harder look at Indian companies and think twice about placing their money there.
BBC correspondent Karishma Vaswani in Mumbai says the consequences for corporate India are extremely dire, given that Satyam is not just listed on Indian stock markets, but was also the first Indian technology firm to list on the hi-tech US Nasdaq market.
SATYAM
Employs 53,000 people, operates in 66 countries
Won 2008 global award for excellence in corporate governance by World Council for Corporate Governance (WCFCG)
Becomes official IT services provider for the FIFA World Cups, 2010 and 2014
Ramalinga Raju, Satyam's founder and chairman, won Ernst & Young's 2007 entrepreneur of the year award

Jigar Shah, senior vice-president at Kim Eng Securities, said: "I think there is no fortune for this stock. The case for India is similar to what happened to Enron in the US."
The news comes after plans to acquire Maytas Properties and plans to acquire a 51% stake in Maytas Infra failed.
"The aborted Maytas acquisition deal was the last attempt to fill the fictitious assets with real ones," said the letter.
Mr Raju said a task force investigating the failed deal had been set up. He also recommended to the board that Merrill Lynch be entrusted with the talk of "quickly exploring" merger opportunities.
"We have to go beyond this letter and find out what actually has happened," the Securities and Exchange Board of India told reporters.
"This is an issue which has very serious implications... It also raises the issue of authenticity of accounts that have been audited and certified by the auditors."