The family feud at the ₹40,000-crore Murugappa Group shows no signs of an early amicable settlement , with Valli Arunachalam still waiting for a “concrete offer”.
“They had sent out a communication to select media stating that the issue would be settled amicably soon,” Valli, the elder daughter of MV Murugappan, former Murugappa Group Executive Chairman, told BusinessLine on Thursday.
Demanding a seat on the board of Ambadi Investments Ltd (AIL), the holding company of the 119-year-old Murugappa group, Valli had crossed swords with other family members. Valli, her sister Vellachi Murugappan and their mother MV Valli Murugappan together hold an 8.15 per cent stake in AIL.
Video:
Valli said she has asked the family to make a “concrete offer”, if they are planning to make one. Her communication with the family was sent some time last week, she added.
According to her, in an internal letter, M M Murugappan, executive chairman of the Murugappa Group Corporate Advisory Board, has said they will follow the principles of good governance in this matter even though the family was disappointed by the way Valli had approached media.
“Every branch of the family is represented on the Ambadi board except our family. So, if we were to apply good governance, then every family branch must be equally represented. So, I want to see whether they actually action that and apply good governance. And as a first step, they should put me on the board….,” Valli said.
“Ï have been seeking a meeting with the family since August on this matter, which is not been happening,” she said, adding that she had sought not to be “discriminated against based on gender”.
For the past two years Valli has been seeking a seat on the AIL board, locking horns with the family patriarch, MV Subbiah, who apparently represents the entire family in the issue. Valli has also sent mails to all the male members of the family, including six directors of AIL and a few other junior members. She is demanding that female heirs in the family be given an equal opportunity in the family business.
Valli’s attempts, according to her father’s wishes, to sell to other family members at a “fair price” the 8.15 per cent that she, her sister and mother hold jointly also did not elicit a positive response, she added.
“My father would have wanted this issue settled amicably, but they (the family members) also have to be reasonable. I am a patient person, but I do not have infinite patience.”