All you need to know about the East Bengal-Emami Group deal

The company were previously the sponsors of the Kolkata giants way back in 1996.

On May 25, 2022, at Nabanna, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee declared that Emami Group and East Bengal will be joining hands in order to ensure that the historic club can ply their trade in the Indian Super League.

Apparently, the deal hasn't concluded. The two parties have just agreed on “words of mouth”. The negotiations will be taking place in the upcoming days. Gradually, we’ll witness the preparation and placement of the term sheet and the final agreement of the deal. Emami Group, who had been the sponsors of East Bengal way back in 1996 will again be at the thick of things in the club.

Here is what you need to know about Emami Group.

How the deal came about?

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced in a press conference that she had invited both parties. Subsequently, the verbal agreement took place. Dignitaries from both parties were present at the venue. Debabrata Sarkar and Sadananda Mukherjee, Executive Committee members, were present on behalf of the club.

Co-founder Radhe Shyam Goenka, Emami Group, Mohan Goenka, Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director, Emami Limited and Aditya V Agarwal, Director, Emami Group were present on behalf of the company. Also, reputed journalist Biswa Majumder was present at the venue.

The absolute signing of the deal will only happen after both the parties negotiate and prepare a term sheet and the final agreement.

Who are the Emami Group?

Emami Group are a Multinational conglomerate. They have their base in Kolkata. In 1974, two childhood friends, Radhe Shyam Goenka and Radhe Shyam Agarwal came along to form Kemco Chemicals in Kolkata. The very same year they started manufacturing cosmetic products and Ayurvedic Medicines under the brand name of Emami. Currently, the company has its nine key businesses spread across 64 countries. Their annual revenue of 2021 was ₹20,000 Crores. In addition, 25,000 employees work for Emami Group.

Key people from both parties

It is still not clear on how many directors will be present and what the ratio of shares split among the two parties will be. Paperwork will be prepared in the next few days. With accordance to the number of directors allotted for East Bengal, it is expected that Saikat Ganguly and Sadananda Mukherjee might be the two potential directors.

Emami Group have a lot of experienced leaders in their bag. Naresh Bhansali (CEO – Finance, Strategy and Business Development and CFO, Emami Limited) might be considered as a potential director from the investor’s end. His financial background may help the probable joint venture to function smoothly. Even Mohan Goenka (Vice Chairman and Whole-time Director, Emami Limited) who has a lucrative management background might be a part as well. It is tough to predict if Manish Goenka or Aditya V Agarwal will be on board, since they are key figures in the running of the company.

But these are all speculations. It’s better to wait for the next few days and see what actually takes place.

How are they coming on board?

Emami Group will be investing in East Bengal as their investors. The club will ply their trade in the Calcutta Football League, Durand Cup, Super Cup and Indian Super League in the upcoming season. The entire thing will be financed and looked after by Emami Group. As mentioned earlier, this wouldn’t be the first time both parties join hands. In 1996, Emami was the sponsor of East Bengal. Can old friends work together to take the club back to the helm?