The Silicon Review ^Asia

Café Coffee Day, India’s homegrown chain of coffee shops, has seen better days. The founder, managing director and chairman of its parent company Coffee Day Enterprise went missing on Tuesday, following which the company’s stocks went down. Things have now taken a turn from bad to worse for the popular chain when the chairman, VG Sidddharta’s body was found in the Netravathi River in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The company was founded in 1994 by VG Siddharta and now boasts of 1, 843 outlets, most of which are in India with a few being in Austria, Nepal, Egypt, Malaysia, and the Czech Republic. Shares of the company fell by over 20% for a second day, down from Rs.154.05 on Tuesday to Rs.123.25 on Wednesday. The prices have taken an overall 37% dip in two days following the widely published news of its chairman disappearance and that of his death.

Following the drop in prices, the company’s current market cap now sits at Rs.2, 603 crore ($360 million approximately), down from Rs.3, 254.3 crore ($450 million approximately) before today’s drop. All the outlets of the chain across the nation remain closed as a mark of respect for the founder and chairman.

The company grows its coffee on its own estates that are spread out across an area of 20,000 acres. It is the largest producer of Arabica coffee beans in Asia.