Business groups keep it in the family

Even as the power struggle continues in the Reliance empire, how do other family-owned businesses in Gujarat fare?

At least four"" detergent major Nirma, multi-diversified Adani Group, pharma and power major Torrent, and another pharma major JB Chemicals "" have been maintaining cordial family ties "" analysts are yet to notice signs of rift.

Take the case of the Rs 2,585 crore Nirma in which Rakesh Patel, one of the directors, holds 6.65 per cent stake and his younger brother, Hiren holds 7.04 per cent.

"The company though grown in size from a typical family business initiated by Karsanbhai Patel. The patriarch still holds an overall command over his sons, holding around 14 per cent stake, cumulatively. Though Hiren is often in the limelight through media, Rakesh prefers to maintain a low-profile and, thus far, there is no incident of differences of opinion between the brothers," said an industry observer.

Interestingly, like Dhirubhai, the founder of Reliance, Karsanbhai also faced struggles during his early days and despite threats from multinationals such as Hindustan Lever and Procter & Gamble, Nirma has managed to hold thrive in the detergent business.

The Torrent group, which is into power and pharmaceutical, is run by brothers Sudhir Mehta and Samir Mehta. Sudhir looks after power, both distribution and generation, while Samir is responsible for the pharmaceutical business through Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited (TPL).

In TPL, Sudhir holds 3.48 per cent stake, in addition to 1.01 per cent stake that he holds as a Hindu undivided family (HUF), Samir holds 3.84 per cent stake, plus 1.23 percent stakes as a HUF. Torrent Power Generation is not yet listed on the bourses.

A source in the company said, "Much before Torrent gained in size, the two brothers decided to remain focused on their own areas of interest."

Take the case of JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Limited (JBCPL), where three brothers, Jyotindra Mody, Dinesh Mody and Shirish Mody, are active members of the board and so far no rift has been reported.

Jyotindra, chairman of the company, holds 7.63 per cent stake through Jyotindra Modu Holdings Pvt, while younger brothers, Dinesh and Shirish, hold 7.18 per cent and 6.36 per cent stakes through Dinesh Mody Securities and Shirish B Mody Investments Private, respectively.

"Within the company we say, that in spite of six eyes, six ears and six pairs of limbs, there is one head, running the show without any dispute," said a senior company official.

In these stories of unity among brothers, there was the case of split between two brothers Sushil and Sunil Handa of Core which took place around six years back. But after an initial hiccup, two brothers now hold almost similar stake in Core Emballage where Sunil holds 4.09 percent stake and Sushil holds 4 per cent stakes.

But the most unique example is from the Rs 13,000 crore Adani Group having varied interests. In the flagship company, Adani Exports, four brothers from the family, Gautam, Rajesh, Vasant and Vinod hold 22.42 per cent stake.

Gautam individually holds 6.47 per cent, while Rajesh holds 6.48 per cent stake and Vasant and Vinod hold 5.53 per cent and 3.94 per cent respectively.

In this case also, Gautam has his focus on the group's infrastructure business, while Rajesh is responsible mainly for exports and edible oil business.