The root of the tussle between the Hinduja family is an agreement signed on July 2, 2014. It was signed by all the four brothers. It said that everything in the family belongs to each person and nothing belongs to no one. Srichand Hinduja had filed a case against his brothers GP Hinduja, PP Hinduja and AP Hinduja. This pertained to the validity of the 2014 agreement. The legal dispute over this was going on since November, 2019. Srichand Hinduja’s three younger brothers argued that the letter was a succession plan of the Hinduja Group, more than 100 years old. But it was challenged by Srichand Hinduja’s daughters Shanu and Veenu. Not only in Britain, there is a legal war going on between Hinduja Brothers in many countries of Europe. This is harming the family.
business of hinduja group
Hinduja Group’s business spans from truck manufacturing to banking, chemicals, power, media and healthcare. Group companies include auto major Ashok Leyland and IndusInd Bank. With a net worth of $14 billion, the Hinduja family is Britain’s richest family. The business of the companies of this group is spread over 38 countries and more than 150,000 employees work in them. The Hinduja Group was founded in 1914 by Srichand Parmanand from the Sindh region in British India. The Hinduja Group was once a commodity-trading firm, but Srichand and his brothers steadily expanded their business to other sectors.
The first news of a rift in the Hinduja family came when Srichand’s daughters filed a court case over control of SP Hinduja Banque Privée SA, based in Switzerland. Srichand’s daughter Shanu is the chairperson of this bank and his son Karam is its CEO. However, other members of the family also wanted their control over this bank, after which the dispute started. The controversy brought this more than 100-year-old corporate empire to the brink of collapse.
who will get swiss bank
A source told that Hinduja Group’s bank in Switzerland may remain with SP Hinduja Group. However, it could not be independently confirmed whether the Hinduja family has agreed to hand over the bank to SP Group. SP Hinduja Group had bought Banca Commerciale Lugano in 2013 and merged it with Hinduja Bank (Switzerland). Later its name was changed. Srichand Hinduja became its founding chairman. His brothers allege that Srichand’s health is not good and taking advantage of this, his daughters are working against his wishes. According to a Bloomberg report, Srichand is suffering from Hinduja dementia (memory forgetfulness).
The Swiss bank is much smaller than the rest of the Hinduja Group companies but has significant cross holdings. It holds 4.98 per cent stake in Ashok Leyland. According to the current market cap, its value is Rs 2195 crore. Apart from this, there is SP Hinduja, chairman emeritus of Mauritius-based IndusInd International Holdings (IIH). It holds 12.58 per cent stake in IndusInd Bank. The market cap of this bank is close to Rs 89 thousand crore. Accordingly, the value of IIH’s stake in it is Rs 11,205 crore.
In addition, IIH also has stake in Hinduja Leyland Finance and IndusInd Media & Communications Limited. Presently its chairman is Ashok Hinduja. Sanu and Vinu Hinduja also hold shares in the listed company Hinduja Global Solutions. It is a part of the Promoter Group. However, it is not yet clear how the cross-holding will be resolved. Both the parties do not want to disclose the details of this settlement.
separate responsibility
Each brother has a different responsibility for the business. Srichand Hinduja is the chairman of the entire group. It was he who started IndusInd Bank, which is one of the leading private banks in India. Gopichand Hinduja is the co-chairman of this group. He is also the Chairman of Hinduja Automotive Limited, UK. The third brother Prakash is currently the chairman of the Hinduja Group in Europe, while Ashok is the chairman of the Hinduja Group in India. Srichand and Gopichand live in London. Prakash lives in Monaco while Ashok lives in India. According to Forbes’ Real Time Net Worth list, the Hinduja brothers are at number 110 in the list of the world’s richest.
Source: navbharattimes.indiatimes.com
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