VG Siddhartha has always loved to wake up and smell the coffee. That?s not surprising when you own over 12,000 acres of coffee plantations and is known in the country as the man who established the Cafe Coffee Day brand. But what?s surprising industry watchers is his continuing love affair with the mid-sized IT firm MindTree. Last week he picked up an additional 3.84% stake to take his total holding in the company to 21.6%. And that?s more than the promoters? holding in the company.

Siddhartha is as ambitious a man, as he is a recluse. The son-in-law of SM Krishna, Karnataka?s former chief minister and present external affairs minister, has been building a multi-layered empire for himself in the last 25 years and there seems to be no letting up. The way he has been acquiring MindTree shares, step by step, encapsulates the manner in which has gone about doing his business.

Siddhartha?s open market transaction was worth R95.4 crore. The MindTree board member purchased the 15.64 lakh shares at R610 a piece in a bulk deal from investment firm Walden Software. Prior to the deal, Siddhartha had held around 17.79% in the software firm, through his group companies Cafe Coffee Day Resort (11.26%) and Global Technology Venture (6.53%).

The Coffee king?s continued interest in MindTree is great to watch from the sidelines. While MindTree has slowed down considerably as a company, it is still holding on to ambitions of becoming a $1 billion firm. The fact that Siddhartha?s interest levels in the company are going up is an assuring sign for investors. The man has hardly put a foot wrong, ever. And he understands technology ventures. It was in 1992 that he founded Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Company and then started his coffee retail venture under the Cafe Coffee Day brand in 1995. Ever since then he has been investing in technology companies. It is estimated that he has invested in more than a dozen tech firms.

Siddhartha is unlikely to take his holdings beyond 25%, which can trigger an open offer. Industry watchers say that he will cap his holdings in MindTree at 24%. Every time he picks up a stake in the company, people talk about what his plans could be. MindTree management looks comfortable with the equation at present. Chairman Subroto Bagchi is a legend in tech circles and CEO KK Natarajan is a highly seasoned campaigner. Siddhartha knows that with such management bandwidth MindTree cannot go down in a heap. Though analysts have not been very confident about the company?s fortunes, no one can deny that the firm is still rated as the best among all mid-sized IT firms in India.

The man knows his numbers. After doing his Masters he joined JM Morgan Stanley in Mumbai as a management trainee under Mahendra Kampani. After a two-year term Siddhartha returned to Bangalore, and told his father that he wanted to get into business. He then started a company called Sivan Securities and built it into a successful investment banking and stock broking company. It is not a surprise that he is able to see what most others are not able to. Investor confidence was shaken a bit after founder chairman Ashok Soota had quit the company and when the firm?s product strategy started to go awry. But Siddhartha?s confidence in the management has only grown.

In a way, MindTree has also begun to understand that it has to realign itself to new realities. The $1 billion revenue target is still some way away. The company is now backing its new ?Back to basics? strategy. The business structure has been simplified and the company wants to focus more on its specialised verticals and hunt down larger deals.

A fresh start has been made at MindTree. And Siddartha is stirring up a fine brew. Coffee, anyone?