NRI takes over German store chain

German business circles were startled when a small NRI-owned textile importing company took over the financially troubled German clothing chain store Wehmeyer that is a household name for the country’s lower and middle-class consumers.

The man behind the takeover of Wehmeyer is Rajive Ranjan, Techno Lifestyle GmbH’s managing director, who recently signed a deal for taking over 28 of its stores in the states of North Rhine Westphalia, Rhineland Palatinate and Lower Saxony.

Though accustomed to witnessing takeovers of major European and American corporate assets by big Indian conglomerates such as Reliance, Tata, Essar, Mahindra and others, Germany’s business community is now also taking cognizance of takeover bids by smaller and less known Indian companies that are increasingly becoming players in the mergers and acquisitions game.