About 14 months after Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj ended a lengthy dispute with brother Shishir Bajaj, he simplified the family holding with his other brother, Shekhar Bajaj, who controls Bajaj Electricals.
Rahul Bajaj sold 3.535 million shares of Bajaj Electricals to Shekhar Bajaj and the latter’s son, Anant Bajaj. In turn, Shekhar Bajaj and his family sold 7.717 million shares of Bajaj Auto to Bajaj Holdings and Investment, controlled by the Rahul Bajaj family.
Shares of Bajaj Electricals touched a 52-week high of Rs 192.80 in intraday trading due to the block deals. Bajaj Electricals manufactures electric fans and general lighting items such as lamps and lighting fixtures. The shares of the company closed 3.1 per cent up, at Rs 183 a share on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
When asked about the sale of his stake, Rahul Bajaj said: “This is part of internal transactions. Nothing has been sold outside the group.”
Jamnalal Bajaj had two sons, Ramkrishna and Kamalnayan. The latter had two sons, Rahul and Shishir, while the former had three - Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj. In the second generation, ownership of the Bajaj group of companies — held through Bajaj Sevashram — went 50 per cent each to the Ramkrishna and Kamalnayan groups. By the third generation, the shares were down to 25 per cent each for the two sons of Kamalnayan (Rahil and Shishir) and 16.67 per cent for their three cousins. The entry of the fourth generation hastened moves to clarify control and ownership issues.
Earlier, the dispute with Shishir Bajaj was solved when he sold his 25 per cent holding in the primary group investment firm, Bajaj Sevashram, to his brother, Rahul Bajaj, in an off-market deal. This was after Rahul Bajaj transferred his group’s entire 29.62 per cent shareholding in Bajaj Hindusthan. That time, Rahul Bajaj had support from Shekhar Bajaj, Madhur Bajaj and Niraj Bajaj, his cousins.
Now, he is trying to simplify the family holding with his cousins. This would ultimately help Rahul Bajaj’s two sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv, who are respectively handling the two-wheeler business, Bajaj Auto, and the financial services business, Bajaj Allianz. Bajaj Auto shares were up by 1.35 per cent to Rs 1,748 on the BSE.
