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East Bengal is all set to make its debut in the 2020-21 Indian Super League (ISL) season on Friday. The Red and Gold Brigade lock horns with arch-rivals Mohun Bagan (now known as ATK Mohun Bagan). East Bengal's road to the ISL has been a bumpy one, and they arrive at the cash-rich tournament after months of uncertainty.
Club officials were in negotiations with several International and Indian companies to generate the funds required to enter the Indian Super League. The club finally penned a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Shree Cement to acquire majority stakes in East Bengal's Sporting Division.
Shree Cement and East Bengal Club formed a Joint Venture (JV) company named Shree Cement East Bengal Foundation, which owns 100% stakes in East Bengal Club Sporting, as well as Intellectual Rights. Meanwhile, 76% stakes are owned by Shree Cement while East Bengal Club owns 24% stakes in the Joint Venture Foundation.
#1 Shree Cement is led by India's 10th Richest Man
Shree Cement is led by India's 10th Richest Man, Benu Gopal Bangur. Hailing from a business family from Kolkata, Bangur is currently the chairman of Shree Cement.
He holds a market net worth of $7.7 billion and is the 10th richest Indian in terms of announced wealth, as per the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires Index. Bangur owns a majority stake in Shree Cement. The company, however, is run by his son Hari Mohun Bangur.
#2 Shree Cement is based out of Kolkata
Shree Cement was founded in Beawar, Rajasthan in 1979. The cement manufacturers soon shifted their headquarters to Kolkata. The company has its corporate address registered at Strand Road, BBD Bagh, Kolkata.
Ownership of East Bengal Football Club is Shree Cement's first investment in West Bengal despite being based out of Kolkata for many years. However, chairman Benu Gopal Bangur has contributed several philanthropical investments to the state through hospitals, schools and welfare schemes.
#3 Shree Cement is one of the top cement manufacturers in India
Shree Cement is one of the best cement manufacturers in the country. They are right up there with other elite cement manufacturers such as Ultra Tech Cement, Ambuja Cement and, ACC Cement.
In 2018, Shree Cement rose to the position of second-largest cement manufacturers in India in terms of market cap. Shree Cement sells their products under their three brands - Shree Ultra Jung Rodhak Cement, Bangur Cement, and Rockstrong Cement.
The firm has manufacturing plants in Beawar, Ras, Khushkhera, Jobner, and Suratgarh in Rajasthan, Laksar in Uttarakhand, Panipat in Haryana, Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh, Raipur in Chattisgarh, and Aurangabad in Bihar.
#4 Shree Cement also invests in power generation
Shree Cement also generates and sells power through their brands - Shree Power and Shree Mega Power. The company has 120 MW captive power plants divided between two locations (Beawar and Ras in Rajasthan) to meet the power requirements of their 15 million tonne integrated cement plant.
#5 Shree Cement has investments in the United Arab Emirates
Shree Cement also has offshore cement investments in the United Arab Emirates. The Kolkata-based company acquired majority stakes (97.6%) in UAE's Union Cement Corporation (UCC) in 2018 through its UAE based subsidiary, Shree International Holdings.
