More than the potential deal between South African telecom giant MTN and Anil Ambani group firm Rcom, it's the rivalry between the Ambani brothers that has caught the fancy of Western media which compares it to a potboiler penned by fiction writer Jeffrey Archer.
As the time draws closer to the expiry of exclusivity agreement between Rcom and MTN for negotiations, one newspaper after another in Britain and the US is commenting on the eruption of a battle between the two richest brothers in the world.
The controversy over the possible deal started with Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries asserting its Right of First Refusal over the younger brother's company with legal notices to Rcom and MTN in the midst of negotiation for a deal that could create a $70 billion entity.
While the UK's The Independent termed it like one of famed novelist Jeffrey Archer's potboilers, a Financial Times columnist said the spat could make a 'passable B movie.'
Almost all of them felt it is all about one-oneupmanship between the two.
As The Independent put things in a future perspective, "The next installment in the Ambani saga will show whether the rivalry between the two continues to drive both to still greater achievements -- or whether, like a character in a Jeffrey Archer novel, only one can succeed."
But tension has been flaring up between the two all the time in these three years (since they parted ways), with both of them trying to steal the show from each other in areas ranging from construction and telecom to entertainment, writes a senior journalist at international business magazine Fortune.
In its write-up, UK's The Sunday Times said, "What kind of man travels halfway round the world to sabotage the biggest deal of our career. . . and then threatens you with legal action? For supporters of Anil Ambani, the second richest man in India, the answer is 'your older brother."
One of the articles brought about the contrast in the Ambanis' fight, by touching upon the differences between steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal and his brother Pramod Mittal, both of whom managed to keep sensitive family issues away from the spotlight.
The Sunday Times says India is 'no stranger to sibling rivalry, but this (Ambani) feud has enthralled the country's business community."
The diverse views are reminiscent of the media's scrutiny of the Ambani family feud, with writings drawing comparisons on personal fortunes to family fights in India.
"My EBITDA is bigger than yours. Is this what the latest spat between the two Ambani brothers boils down to?" questioned a columnist of the British daily Financial Times.
