TAKING STOCK OF PROFESSOR MANKEKAR’S ASSETS

Shivanand Shankar Mankekar, one of the largest retail share-holders in USL, keeps a low profile despite his stock gains; he teaches at management college.Dressed in a simple green T-shirt and trousers, Shivanand Shankar Mankekar barely looks like the high-profile stock investor he is. For a man whose share holding and other assets have been valued at Rs 1,000 crore, he drives a hatchback preferred by middle-class families.Until three days ago, Mankekar’s long-time neighbours in Matunga had no idea about his investments; most know him as a down-to-earth professor who followed a work-to-home routine like lakhs of Mumbaiites.It’s a way of life professor Mankekar, who is in his sixties, and his family have worked hard to maintain despite their staggering gains in the stock market.“We are ordinary people and don’t want media publicity. Please respect our privacy,” his wife, who refused to share her first name, told Mirror outside their residence in Matoshree Pearl, a 19-storey apartment building on S Keer Marg, Matunga, on Friday afternoon.A few moments later, a bespectacled Mankekar walked out of the complex, politely refusing to comment. As the couple drove off, Mankekar folded his hands and bowed his head. A query with residents revealed that he was probably offering his respects to Sai Baba. There is a Sai Baba temple near the complex.Mankekar - who teaches financial markets at Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management in Churchgate - shot to limelight this week after it emerged that he is the largest retail shareholder in United Spirits Limited (USL). His 14,89,100 shares were valued at Rs 425 crore at Thursday’s closing price of the USL stock.Diageo, the world’s largest spirits maker, has launched a $1.9-billion bid to take majority stock in United Spirits, previously controlled by Vijay Mallya.Mankekar, his wife and their son, who is married, also own stock in a host of other companies. (See below) Though the exact value of their assets is not known - until recently, the Mankekars were known only to a small group of Dalal Street veterans - some estimates suggest it is around Rs 1,000 crore.A small flat on the second floor of Shanti Co-operative Housing Society in Matunga’s Mughal Lane was the Mankekars’ home for 10 years. A year ago, they moved to Matoshree Pearl, a new construction. The flat in Shanti housing society has been converted into an office. The nameplate reads: Mrs L S Mankekar.A resident in the housing society said that neighbours were aware that professor Mankekar put in stocks, but no one knew that he was a high-profile investor. “He is very humble. Every time there is a function here on the Republic Day or the Independence Day, he makes a visit without fail,” the former neighbour said.Another neighbour said that he had known the family for years, but professor Mankekar never discussed financial matters. Security guards at Matoshree Pearl, where the family owns two flats, said that the Mankekars keep a low profile. Mankekar’s son, Kedar, teaches at Matunga’s Welingkar College.One of professor Mankekar’s students described him as a “fantastic teacher”. “He would give us tips about the financial markets, but we had no idea he was a savvy investor himself. He is so simple that it’s hard to imagine that he holds significant number of shares,” the student said.Prof Shivanand Shankar Mankekar held 14,89,100 shares of United Spirits Ltd as on March 31, 2014, according to company filings with the stock exchanges. This is his largest stock asset, valued at Rs 425 crore at Thursday’s closing price of the share.Information available in the public realm shows he has a higher than 1 per cent stake in a clutch of listed companies, among them, Shasun Pharma, Galaxy Entertainment and MT Educare. Jointly with his wife, he holds a 6.01 per cent stake in Talwalkars Better Value Fitness and a 2 per cent stage in HCL Infosystems. All this amounts to a little over Rs. 500 crore, but Mankekar could be worth much, much, more as companies have to only disclose stakes of over one per cent held by individuals.“He could hold very valuable stakes in other companies. Nobody can know exactly how much Mankekar’s shares amount to,” said a stock market expert.As to whether an individual with a modest salary can attain to such wealth, experts held it was tough. “Maybe he had inherited a large-ish amount or had land or other assets to start with,” said one broker. Many constituents of the stock market have heard about Mankekar but know little about him.“It is possible that he has built up his wealth through a very wise combination of speculation and long-term investment. Some speculation could have given him that initial fillip. We can only surmise,” said Arun Kejriwal who heads Kejirwal Research & Information Services.