Readers of the Times of India and Economic Times across the country were greeted this morning with a quarter-page appeal on the front page to prime minister Narendra Modi from an obscure company.
The ad said that Landomus Reality Ventures Inc, USA, would like to invest $500 billion in equity in India.
That’s roughly Rs 3,64,31,25,00,00,000. From a company no one seemed to have heard of, until today.
Issued by the group's chairman Pradeep Kumar S, the ad said the company had a "concrete plan" to make India "pandemic free" and requested Modi to give it an opportunity to present this plan. Landomus Group also announced its intention to "assist the government in its endeavor to rebuild India and achieve the USD 5 million GDP target".
How, you ask? That's the mystery.
Landomus Group's website, powered by GoDaddy, has little else apart from the same advertisement. The only other content is the name of its directors and advisors: Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash is chairman and CEO, while the directors are Mamatha HN, Yashas Pradeep Kumar, Rakshith Gangadhar, and Gunashree Pradeep Kumar. The advisors are Pamela Keough, Praveen Oscar Shiri, Praveen Muralidhar, AVV Bhaskar, and Naveen Sajjan.
The website lists an address in New Jersey in the United States. But according to data on Zuaba Corp, its registered address is in Bengaluru. The company was incorporated on July 17, 2015. Landomus Group seems to have no internet footprint or social media accounts, though three of its directors have LinkedIn profiles.
The Zuaba link also lists Landomus as a non-government company with an authorised capital of Rs 10 lakh and paid-up share capital of Rs 1 lakh. It describes the company as being involved in "real estate activities with own or leased properties".
Data on Zoom Info says that Landomus Realty Ventures has 19 employees, a revenue of $5 million, and was formed with the purpose of "acquiring land parcels and creating land banks in India". Data on Tofler says the company's last reported annual general meeting took place on December 21, 2020, and the last balance sheet was prepared for the period ending March 31, 2020.
Now, advertisements in newspapers don't come cheap, especially front-page ads. The price of a quarter-page ad on the front page of the Mumbai edition of the Times of India currently costs around Rs 7.5 lakh. The cost in Delhi is Rs 6.5 lakh. While costs differ across editions, Mumbai and Delhi are the most expensive.
Newslaundry sent an email to the company ID listed on the Landomus website, as well as to Pradeep Kumar Satyaprakash to find out more about their ad. This piece will be updated if we receive a response.
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