Birla asset split spares Chambal

Krishna Kumar Birla’s estate is being carved up among his heirs under the terms of his will.

Saroj Poddar, the eldest son-in-law, will take over Zuari Industries Ltd — the largest company within the KK Birla empire. He will also manage Texmaco Ltd, the largest wagon manufacturer in India.

However, the three daughters — Jyotsna Poddar, Nandini Nopany and Shobhana Bhartia — will jointly own Chambal Fertilisers and Chemicals Ltd, the second largest company within the group. Poddar will be the chairman of Chambal.

Kumar Mangalam Birla, the grandson of younger brother Basant Kumar Birla, will manage the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, the country’s premier engineering institution.

The sugar companies will be divided between younger daughter Nandini Nopany and the Poddars.

Nandini’s son Chandra Shekhar Nopany will run Oudh Sugar Mills Ltd, Upper Ganges Sugar & Industries Ltd and Sutlej Textiles and Industries Ltd.

The Poddars will take over Gobind Sugar Mills Ltd, the other prominent sugar company within the group.

Hindustan Times Ltd, which owns listed media company HT Media Ltd, will go to Shobhana Bhartia.

The big question is whether the three daughters and their families will continue to remain as part of the KK Birla group.

“For the time being, everything will be as it is today. But the family has not decided whether the daughters will carve out their own identities going forward,” said a Birla family member.

KK Birla died at the age of 90 on August 30 after a brief illness, just weeks after his wife Manorama Devi had passed away.

During his lifetime, Birla had put in place a clearly defined management structure that gave some indication of how the group assets would be divided.

However, there was considerable public interest in KK Birla’s will, especially after the controversy over the disputed will of Priyamvada Birla, chairperson of the MP Birla empire.

Priyamvada bequeathed the entire assets of the MP Birla group to Rajendra Singh Lodha, sparking a protracted legal battle between the Birlas and the “outsider”.

On Thursday, the Texmaco board anointed Saroj Poddar as the chairman of the company. Earlier, he was the executive vice-chairman.

Poddar is a past president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and manages several companies such as Gillette and Singer. He was also the co-chairman of Zuari and Chambal.

Zuari, with its subsidiary Paradeep Phosphates, is the largest within the group with net sales of Rs 3,968 crore in 2007-08.

Chambal Fertilisers posted a turnover of Rs 3,205 crore in the last financial year.

Birla family sources said Poddar would take over as the chairman of Zuari and Chambal soon.

Bhartia will assume the chairmanship of the Hindustan Times group.

Chandra Shekhar Nopany will soon be named the chairman of Sutlej Textiles. He is already the chairman of Oudh Sugar, while his mother heads Upper Ganges.

The stock markets will be keenly waiting to see how the family members untangle their crossholdings.

Zuari is the largest shareholder in Chambal Fertilisers with a 12.94 per cent stake, followed by Hindustan Times with 10.62 per cent and SIL Investments Ltd (which belongs to the Nopanys) with 7.73 per cent.

However, SIL is the largest shareholder in Zuari Industries with a 10.90 per cent stake.

India Steamship, the shipping business within the KK Birla group, is part of Chambal and will, therefore, be owned jointly by the daughters.