India’s prestigious Tata Group invited Hinduja investment in its London, New York and Washington hotels. The Hindujas came in with $ 17.5 million. Then they demanded a seat not only on the board of the Tata subsidiary that ran the hotels but also on the board of the parent company in India. The Hindujas also began accusing Tata executives of incompetence. Participants at board meetings say that Srichand Hinduja frequently spiced his accusations with four-letter words. Finally, the Tatas had had enough. They bought out the Hindujas for a reported $ 25 million. From the Hindujas’ point of view, the termination arrangement was just great: They made perhaps $ 7.5 million in less than two years, plus such goodies as free rooms in Tata hotels.-from a 1987 Forbes article
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