Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises sank 20 per cent on the stock exchanges in morning trade on Tuesday after news emerged that V.G. Siddhartha, founder of India’s largest coffee chain Cafe Coffee Day, was missing on Monday evening.
According to reports, Siddhartha got out of his car near the Netravati river bridge in Dakshina Kannada. When he didn’t return for a long time, the driver went in search of him and later informed the family after he was unable to find him.
Dakshina Kannada police have launched a massive search for Siddhartha, who is the son-in-law of former Karnataka chief minister S.M. Krishna.
Siddhartha was the chairman and managing director of Coffee Day Enterprises, the parent company of the Cafe Coffee Day retail chain, which also owns one of Asia’s single-largest coffee estates.
The company is credited for ushering in the cafe culture in India. The first Cafe Coffee Day opened in Bengaluru in 1996 and has grown to over 1,750 outlets in India and abroad, including outlets in Austria, Czech Republic and Malaysia.
The company also has interests in Sical Logistics, Coffee Day Trading and retail-focused investment advisory firm Way2Wealth among others.
Coffee Day Enterprises reported a net profit of Rs 128 crore on a revenue of Rs 4,264 crore in the year ending March 2019.
Earlier this year, Siddhartha sold his 20.3 per cent stake in software services firm Mindtree to engineering giant Larsen & Toubro.
Coffee Day Enterprises shares were stuck in the 20 per cent lower circuit limit at Rs 154.05 on Tuesday, versus its Monday closing price of Rs 192.55.
The broader markets were trading in the green with the BSE’s benchmark Sensex up 253 points or 0.7 per cent at 37,940.02.