CCD owner VG Siddhartha missing: CCD owner's alleged letter says he's 'sorry to let down all the people'

11.36 AM: "The VG Siddhartha news is just stunning. He certainly wasn't a failed entrepreneur! Black letter day for startups & entrepreneurship in India!" says Amit Ranjan, co-founder, SlideShare.

10.54 AM: Former Karnataka CM HD Kumaraswamy visits residence of former union minister SM Krishna.

10.53 AM: "This is  to inform you that, Mr V G Siddhartha, Chairman and Managing Director of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited, has not reachable since yesterday evening. We are taking the help of concerned authorities. Company is  professionally managed and led by competent leadership team, which will ensure continuity of business," Coffee Day said in a statement.

10.33 AM: The 58-year-old coffee entrepreneur's letter to employees and board of directors of CCD, states, "Every financial transaction is my responsibility...the law should hold me & only me accountable." However, the signatures don't match with his signatures in the company's annual report.

10.32 AM: Timeline of VG Siddhartha's investments in Mindtree

• The investment trail of Coffee Day Enterprises can be traced back to 2011. Coffee Day Resort held 6.95 per cent stake or 28 lakh shares in Mindtree. These shares were bought at a price close to Rs 87 per share. The total cost of buying these shares were close to Rs 24.36 crores. This initial investment by CCD founder returned a massive return on investment (ROI) of 1,020 per cent.

• In March 2012, Siddhartha increased his stake to 11.26 per cent (or 45.65 lakh shares) in Mindtree which were acquired at a price of Rs 122.33. In June 2012, he increased his stake further by 3.27 per cent (or 13.47 lakh) shares and owned 14.53 per cent in Mindtree.

• In 2014, Mindtree issued bonus shares in the ratio of 1:1. After the issuance of bonus shares VG Siddhartha sold a minor part of his holding and earned close to Rs 25.5 crores.

• In 2016, mindtree issued bonus shares again in the ratio of 1:1. This time the entire stake of VG Siddhartha remained intact and no buying or selling occurred.

• In 2017, CCD founder further increased his stake by 0.23 per cent (4.41 lakh shares) in Mindtree. These additional shares were acquired at a price close to Rs 529 per share. After this substantial acquisition, the stake of VG Siddhartha stood at 19.94 per cent.

• In 2018, as per the latest available quarterly shareholding pattern of Mindtree, VG Siddhartha held 20.41 per cent stake. Of which 3.33 per cent (54.69 lakh shares) was directly held in his name, 10.63 per cent (1.74 crore shares) was in the name of Coffee Day Enterprises and further 6.45 per cent (1.05 crore shares) was held by Coffee Day Trading Limited.

10.18 AM: Siddhartha's company Coffee Day, that listed on the exchange in November 2015, had a gross debt of Rs 6,547.38 crore in March 2019, says the CMIE data.

10.09 AM: Profit earned by selling stake in Mindtree: Over a period of eight years, Siddhartha bought his stake in Mindtree at a price close to Rs 435.79 crore. He sold 2.5 lakh shares at the price of Rs 122.33 in 2012 amounting to Rs 25.52 crore, followed by a minor sale of 250 shares in 2018 at a price of Rs 864 per share which amounted to Rs 2.16 lakh. After these deductions, the effective cost of investment that VG Siddhartha incurred while buying all his stake in Mindtree comes to around Rs 410.25 crore. The consideration paid by Larson & Toubro to acquire CCD founder's stake as per BSE filing is Rs 3,269 crore. This implies that VG Siddhartha made a profit of Rs 2,858.74 crores by selling his stake in Mindtree.

10.04 AM: Shares of Coffee Day Enterprises shed 19.99% in the early trade on July 30 after Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha was reported missing since the night of July 29. CCD stock opened at a loss of 19.99% or 38.50 points to Rs 154.05 on BSE, also the stock's all time and new 52 week low. There are only sellers in the stock and no buyers standing.

10.01 AM: Here's the full alleged letter written by Siddhartha, which has been circulated over social media. However, the signature mentioned in the letter differs from Siddhartha's signatures mentioned in the company's annual report.

9.56 AM: The alleged letter says: "I would like to say I gave it my all. I am very sorry to let down all the people that put trust in me. I fought for a long time but today I gave me as I could not take any more pressure from one of the private equity partners forcing me to buy back shares, a transaction I had partially completed six months ago by borrowing a large sum of money from a friend."

9.45 AM: In an alleged letter, which is being circulated over social media, Siddhartha says he has "failed to create the right profitable business model despite my best efforts."

9.35 am: Over 200 policemen and divers on about 25 boats are searching for VG Siddhartha. The sniffer dogs are also pressed into service by the deputy commissioner of police.

9.21 AM: Security beefed up at the company's headquarter at CCD square in Bengaluru.

9.13 AM: Mangaluru Police Commissioner S Patil: "I visited SM Krishna's (former Karnataka CM & father-in-law of VG Siddhartha) house last night. I spoke to Siddhartha's wife & other relatives and gathered some information. I'm currently in Bengaluru."

9.10 AM: Congress leader DK Shivakumar meets SM Krishna at his residence in Bengaluru.

8.59 AM: Here's what the driver said about the entire incident: "I have been driving with Siddharth for the past three years. I went to his Bangalore residence at 8 am on Monday and then to Vittal Mallya office and back home at 11 am. At 12.30 pm, Siddharth asked to me to take him to Sakleshpur. And then he said drive towards Mangalore. When I was entering the main Mangalore circle, he said take a left and let's go to the site. We reached the Kerala highway and drove 3-4 km. He asked me to stop at the bridge, and that he'll walk and go to the end of the bridge. Then he got down from the car and asked me to sit inside the car and drive to the other side of the bridge. At 8 pm, I called him but his phone was switched off. Then I called his son, who also called him but to no avail. Later, I filed a complaint."

8.48 AM: Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil says the police had deployed a dog squad that stopped in the middle of the bridge. "Boat service and help of local fishermen being taken to conduct search operation in the Netravati river. We are checking with whom all he spoke last," he adds.

8.43 AM: Mangaluru Police Commissioner Sandeep Patil told ANI: "Yesterday, he left from Bengaluru, saying he is going to Sakleshpur. But on the way, he told his driver to go to Mangaluru."

8.23 AM: "I was shocked when I got the news. Police Commissioner and DC have ordered a search operation, it is being carried out with support from locals," says Congress leader UT Khadar.

8.19 AM: It was reported recently that Coca-Cola was in early talks with CCD to acquire a substantial stake in India's largest coffee chain. CCD was eyeing a valuation of Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 crore from Coca-Cola for the stake sale.

8.15 AM: L&T recently bought 3.27 crore shares held by Siddhartha and Coffee Day Trading Limited in Mindtree for Rs 3,210 crore.

8.09 AM: Political leaders gather at the residence of SM Krishna.