Abstract

The case ‘The ITC Classic Story’ gives a detailed insight into the failure of the erstwhile financial services major ITC Classic. The case explores in detail the events, which led to Classic’s downfall and its subsequent merger with ICICI. The case also examines ICICI’s motives behind its decision to merge with Classic and the benefits of the merger for both the parties involved. The case is so structured as to induce students to think about the reasons behind the failure of ITC Classic, a company that had been doing rather well. The students should essentially be able to understand how ITC’s poor handling of Classic, the cross-holdings and poor fund management led to its downfall. The tutor can also use the case discussion to explain the advantages ICICI hoped to get by merging with a troubled company.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Non-banking Finance Companies in India
• Cross holdings.

Keywords

The ITC Classic Story, financial services, ITC Classic, Classic's, downfall, merger, ICICI, merge, Classic, benefits, parties, students, failure, ITC Classic, ITC's poor handling, Classic, cross-holdings, fund management, downfall, ICICI, merging