In India, we often witness spats over ownership and control in business families, from big to smaller ones. Amidst such an environment, the 127-year-old Godrej family decided to split the business into two, peacefully and amicably. Most importantly, each family group will have exclusive rights over the 'Godrej' brand name.
According to the family agreement, shared with stock exchanges, the Godrej business is split between Adi Godrej, who is head of the family and his brother Nadir Godrej on the one hand and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Godrej Crishna on the other. As per the family settlement agreement (FSA), Adi and Nadir Godrej will retain control of seven companies in the Godrej Industries group (GIG), including the five listed companies of the Godrej group. It includes: Godrej Industries Ltd, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd, Godrej Properties Ltd, Godrej Agrovet Ltd and Astec Lifesciences Ltd, which are listed, and Godrej Seeds and Genetics Ltd, Innovia Multiventures Pvt Ltd.
The five listed companies are collectively valued at around Rs2.4 lakh crore. Nadir Godrej will be the chairperson of GIG till August 2026. Pirojsha Godrej, the son of Adi Godrej, is appointed as the executive vice-chairperson and will assume the role of chairperson after August 2026.
The cousins, Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Godrej Crishna received the unlisted Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd, along with its affiliates and a vast land bank owned by the Godrej group. Jamshyd Godrej will serve as chairperson and managing director of the Godrej Enterprises group (GEG). Nyrika Holkar, the daughter of Smita Godrej Crishna will be the executive director of this group.
Godrej Enterprises group operates in diverse businesses, including appliances, aerospace, aviation, defence, energy, security, construction, healthcare, furniture, IT and infrastructure. It will also retain land banks, including over 3,400 acres in Vikhroli, a suburb of Mumbai, which remains the Godrej family's most significant asset.
In a statement, Nadir Godrej says, "Godrej was founded in 1897 to help build economic independence for India. This deep purpose of innovating for a cause - the values of trust and respect and the belief in trusteeship and making communities that the companies operate in stronger and better - continue to form the bedrock of who we are 127 years later. We look forward to building on this legacy with focus and agility."
A regulatory filing by Godrej Industries says, "The third and fourth generations of the family branches have diverse interests and varying perceptions as to, amongst others, the strategic direction, growth and governance of the Godrej group entities. The family branches are desirous of ensuring harmony in the future amongst the succeeding generations of the Godrej family. To preserve mutual respect, goodwill, amity and harmony and to manage diverse expectations and strategic directions desired by each family branch, each branch head, acting for himself and on behalf of the other members of his concerned family branch, has agreed upon a family settlement arrangement by way of the FSA amongst the family branches."
"The family groups have also entered into a brand and non-compete agreement to record their understanding in respect of the delineation of the rights for adoption, use, ownership and registration of the Godrej brand as well as accepting certain non-compete obligations on the terms and conditions thereunder. This shall ensure stability and continuity of the businesses carried out by each family branch and maintain harmony amongst the family groups," it added.
The FSA also clarifies that there is no shareholders' agreement between the two groups and no special rights like appointing directors and any first right to share subscription are assigned to anyone.
After the FSA became effective, both groups agreed not to be directly or indirectly involved in the management and operations of entities under the control or management of the other group.
Commenting on the future outlook, Jamshyd Godrej says, "With this forward-looking family agreement now in place, we can further drive our growth aspirations with fewer complexities and focus on leveraging our core strengths in high-tech engineering and design-led innovation across our strong portfolio of strategic, consumer, and emerging businesses."
Adi Godrej's family has 10 members, including himself, Tanya Dubash, Nisaba Godrej, Pirojsha Godrej, Aryaan Dubash, Azaar Dubash and four minors, Zoran Mehta, Aidan Mehta, Sasha Godrej and Lana Godrej. Nadir Godrej's family has five members: himself, Rati Godrej, Burjis Godrej, Sohrab Godrej and Hormazd Godrej.
Jamshyd Godrej has four members in his family, including himself. They are: Pheroza Godrej, Navroz Godrej and minor Raika Godrej.
Smita Godrej Crishna has seven other members in her family. The other members are: Freyan Crishna Bieri and Nyrika Holkar, as well as four minors, Kiyan Bieri, Zai Bieri, Arianne Holkar, and Aryaman Holkar.
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