Who Is Danny Gaekwad, NRI Investor Who Wants To Buy Religare Enterprises?

Digvijay “Danny” Gaekwad is a USA based businessman who recently sprang into action in India with a competing offer for a majority stake in Religare Enterprises.

Born in Baroda, as the son of a Judge and grandson of a Colonel in the Indian Army, he graduated in Political Science from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.

As per the information available on his website, Danny Gaekwad Development and Investments, his investments range from real estate and hospitality to information technology.

In the real estate landscape, Gaekwad has invested in downtown Ocala, where he bought 4.32 acres of land for $6 million. Additionally, he is leading several other residential projects.

His “Utopia 42” development near the Villages of Marion spans 393.48 acres and is set to include 770 single-family homes and 744 townhomes. His website also mentions that the project will focus on solving the issue fo increasing housing demands.

Gaekwad is also developing a 1,514-unit residential complex in Lexington, Kentucky.

On the hospitality front, Gaekwad has invested over $250 million in hospitality. He has worked towards developing luxury hotels like the Hilton Garden Inn in Ocala, Home2 Suites, and the St. Thomas Five Star Luxury Resort.

He also runs a few restaurants like Sky Asian Fusion, Perkins, and RV resorts.

Meanwhile, in the IT sector, his ventures include NDS Global and ISOCORP. Since 1999, NDS Global has provided Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions to small and medium businesses.

Operating from Florida and Mumbai, it serves industries like finance, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Details of Religare Offer

Gaekwad's offer gives a 17% premium over the Rs.235 a share offer made by the Dabur fame Burman family for 26 % Religare stake. In addition to this, his offer is for 55% stake of the company.

Explaining his decision to increase his offer from 26% to 55%, Gaekwad said, “If I need to buy even the Burman's shares, I will. It's not a big deal. To acquire a company, you need a majority. So why stop at 26%?”

In a candid conversation with NDTV Profit on Monday, Gaekwad mentioned, "For any investor, whether in India or abroad, the purpose of investing is to make money." He said that Religare's valuation was “more than reasonably low,” making it a lucrative opportunity.

He further added that he wishes to benefit both himself and the shareholders.

However, as per a media statement released by the Burman family in response to the US based businessman, his offer is not a formal one as he has only sought permission from the Securities and Exchange Board of India to be able to do so. The Burmans further mentioned that Gaekwad is already late in making an offer.

“Mr.Gaekwad had to make the competing offer, if at all, within 15 days from the date of public statement, which was made by the Burman Group on Oct 4, 2023 but he did not do so,” the statement read.

Over 400 days have now elapsed for entitling anyone to make a valid competing open offer. So, the question of seeking permission from SEBI itself does not arise, as per the Burmans.

Before the offer by Gaekwad became public, the independent directors of Religare Enterprises Ltd., on Jan 23, flagged concerns over the open offer for the company's stake by the Burman family. The ongoing open offer of Rs 235 per share, by M.B Finmart Pvt., Puran Associates Ltd. and VIC Enterprises Ltd. — entities owned by Burman family — is less than the closing market price of Rs 271 on Sept. 22, 2023, a day before the announcement of the offer.

Furthermore, the directors had also mentioned that the RBI approvals dated Dec. 9, 2024, given to Burmans regarding their open offer were conditional in nature and mandated the Burman family entities to consolidate the non-banking financial companies within the Burman and Religare groups by March 31, 2026.

A detailed consolidation plan, supported by board resolutions, had to be submitted to the RBI within 90 days of the letter.

The directors had submitted that non compliance with the conditions set by the RBI could lead to dire regulator consequences on the Burman family entities as well.