‘‘It's straight out of a thriller,’’ says an associate who watched as Suzlon Energy scripted the second-largest takeover in Indian corporate history in two months flat, buying out Belgian wind turbine gear box maker Hansen Transmissions for $565 million (Rs 2,500 crore). For Suzlon, which had a turnover of Rs 1,942 crore in 2004-05, it certainly was a significant buy.

Significant because Suzlon, now India’s leading manufacturer of wind turbine generators, was a relatively unknown company even two years ago, privately held by the erstwhile textile producing Tanti family, Gujaratis who have made Pune their home. It went public last year — and analysts and market experts are still trying to make sense of some mind-boggling numbers Suzlon is crunching.

Consider this: It’s market capitalisation is Rs 38,640 crore or $8.4 billion with the value of the family’s (led by 47-year-old CEO Tulsi Tanti) stake climbing to $5.6 billion. As of March 31, 2005, the net worth of the company was Rs 903.92 crore. ‘‘Valuations are not so comfortable. The fact that the company’s valuations have increased sharply in the past 18 months is a cause for concern,’’ says one analyst tracking the power sector.

As Rana Kapoor, CEO and MD, Yes Bank, who has been advising the company for the past four years, puts it: ‘‘It has come through a troubled patch and Tulsibhai needed some solid financial advice.’’ But he also points that Tanti ‘‘is a very good negotiator with a fine commercial sense and a great technical bent of mind.’’

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