Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Mar 06, 2003
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Mar 06, 2003 |
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Corporate Disputes Corporate - Corporate Disputes Chhabria daughter could queer pitch Boby Kurian
BANGALORE, March 5 THE efforts of Manu Chhabria's family to patch up with Ms Bhavika Godhwani, the estranged eldest daughter of the estate, have suffered a setback. In a significant move, Ms Godhwani has expressed interest in joining a class action suit initiated by the Chhabria clan's arch-rival, Mr Vijay Mallya's McDowell & Co Ltd, against the corporate restructuring exercise in Shaw Wallace & Co Ltd. On February 27, when McDowell's appeal for a stay on Shaw Wallace's restructuring came up for hearing before a Division Bench in the Mumbai High Court, Mr Soli Doctor, a senior counsel appearing on behalf of Ms Godhwani, made an oral plea to be impleaded in the case. A spokesperson of the Jumbo group, the $1.5-billion transnational business empire founded by the late Manu Chhabria, acknowledged legal intervention by Ms Godhwani's counsel in the Mumbai High Court last week. However, he added that the Chhabria family and the Jumbo group were not aware of Ms Godhwani acting in a manner harmful to the interests of the group's businesses. Industry observers said that the latest development was an indication of the Chhabria family's futile efforts to mollify Ms Godhwani. Last November, Ms Godhwani had filed a suit in a Dubai court seeking division of the assets owned by the Jumbo group. Apart from being a major player in the consumer electronics trading business in the Gulf, the group has controlling interests in Indian companies such as Shaw Wallace, Dunlop India, Mather & Platt, Hindustan Dorr Oliver and Gordon Woodroffe. It is learnt that Ms Godhwani pressed for a division of assets in the wake of an uneasy relationship with her younger sister, Ms Komal Chhabria Wazir, who has gained a strong foothold in the affairs of the group. It is not yet clear whether the latest development in the Mumbai High Court could lead to Ms Godhwani joining hands with Mr Mallya. Sources close to Mr Mallya said that there were no parleys with Ms Godhwani, but added that she was "welcome" to join the class action suit initiated against the restructuring in Shaw Wallace "which goes against the interests of the shareholder community". They added that the suit taken out by McDowell, a shareholder in Shaw Wallace, was representative in nature and no one could stop Ms Godhwani if she wanted to be impleaded in the case. McDowell's case, which is slated to come up for hearing on April 1, assumes significance as Mr Mallya has been engaged in a prolonged legal tussle in a Hong Kong court for control over Shaw Wallace. The latest development could delay Shaw Wallace's move to bring SABMiller, the world's second largest brewer, as a strategic partner in its beer business.
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