Explained: How Avantha's Gautam Thapar lost control of his companies

Avantha Group fell prey to its ambitious inorganic growth and diversification

This story, first published on May 19, 2019, is being put out again after Gautam Thapar was arrested on Tuesday evening on money-laundering charges.

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In the first week of May, YES Bank invoked the pledge on Gautam Thapar’s shares in CG Power and Industrial Solutions, which resulted in the promoter’s exit as a shareholder from the company. In 2015, he had already sold his entire shareholding in Crompton Greaves Consumer. 

A little more than 10 years since it was renamed, Gautam Thapar’s Avantha Group is a far cry from its past glory. The conglomerate, which was thriving in