The rise and fall of Reliance Communications

NEW DELHI: The collapse of Reliance Communications (RCom) marks a complete fall in flamboyant Anil Ambani’s fortune as the ‘prized family jewel’ – that he inherited as part of a family settlement with elder brother Mukesh – comes to haunt him nearly 15 years after the Ambanis’ mega expansion into the telecom business.
While Anil always viewed the telecom business as the next frontier for growth, after losing the lucrative oil and gas operations in the family settlement, heavy investments and stiff competition made it an uphill task for him to realise his dreams. And with debts mounting by the day – it is estimated at nearly Rs 47,000 crore now – the final death knell was sounded when Mukesh made a re-entry into the telecom arena (in September 2016) with free services under the Reliance Jio banner.