Who is Danny Gaekwad, the US tycoon eyeing Religare?

Vadodara-born Gaekwad, who left for US in 1987, has become a wild card in the war for Religare

- Nehal Chaliawala

Digvijay "Danny" Gaekwad, a Vadodara-born American entrepreneur and politician who has endorsed US President Donald Trump, has emerged as an epitome of the term "wild card", at least in the context of the tussle to gain control of Religare Enterprises Ltd.

The Burman family of Dabur group, Religare's largest shareholder, has been fighting a pitched battle with its current chair Rashmi Saluja for control of the financial services firm for over a year now.

Now, Gaekwad has thrown his hat in the ring, offering to make an open offer at ₹275 per share—a 17% premium to the open offer made by the Burmans—for acquiring a 26% stake in Religare Enterprises. On Sunday, he revised his offer to at least 55%. Religare's shares ended Friday's trading on BSE at ₹247.20 apiece, down 1.14%.

Who is Danny Gaekwad?

Gaekwad, 60, is a wealthy first-generation immigrant to the US who has set up several successful real estate and hospitality businesses. Much of what Mint has gathered about him is through his personal website, a link of which he shared with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) to prove his track record as an investor.