The story of the Mittal brothers of Ispat group is quite riveting, to say the least. The eldest, Lakshmi, was sent by the patriarch to Indonesia to manage a small steel mill. Through a combination of audacity, foresight, cunning and calculated risk-taking, he built an empire which is now the global steel industry leader by a very wide margin. He became one of the richest men in the world, married off his daughter in style and lives in one of the most expensive homes in the world.

The younger brothers, Pramod and Vinod, inherited the group’s businesses in India from their father. In the mid-nineties they decided to expand their business and floated Ispat Industries to set up a 3 million tonnes per annum integrated steel mill. Before the plant could come up, the Indian economy faltered under the burden of high inflation and interest rates. Ispat Industries was saddled with huge debts and never stood a chance to weather the downturn.

By 2003, metal prices started rising and Ispat Industries attempted a revival after a massive debt and capital restructuring programme. Yet, the company continued to suffer from operational inefficiency and mismanagement. In contrast, JSW Steel – which started at the same time and went through the same initial troubles as Ispat – has been far more successful and is now on a massive capacity expansion programme to rival even Tata Steel.

Unfazed by their troubles at Ispat Industries, brothers Pramod and Vinod decided to copy elder brother Lakshmi and bought run-down steel mills abroad. Their company Global Steel bought assets in Nigeria, Libya and Bulgaria. But, they never managed to turn around these mills like their illustrious brother did at many countries from Eastern Europe to the Caribbean. The lack of success didn’t prevent Pramod Mittal from professing his ambition to catch up with elder brother Lakshmi Mittal.

All that naked ambition and hundreds of millions of dollars in investments have come to nought as Global Steel seems to be failing. The company has reportedly sold off part of the assets in Bulgaria and its Nigerian acquisition is under a cloud following allegations of corruption. Employees in Nigeria, Libya and Bulgaria – including nearly 400 Indian nationals posted to these operations - have reportedly not received their salaries for many months. 

Last heard, Pramod Mittal is desperately trying to sell a Bulgarian football club which he bought less than a year back for nearly $20 million.