The Richest Maharashtrian in the world and amongst Forbes Top 50 richest Indians, Baba Kalyani turns 75 today. He is undoubtedly a visionary and a pioneer in the Indian manufacturing sector.
As a member of the Prime Minister’s Science Technology & Innovation Council, he has made significant contributions to the economy and society through his businesses and philanthropy. However, he has faced several challenges and controversies in his long career. As he enters the twilight of his life, he may have to resolve some of these issues. Will he be able to ensure a smooth transition of his empire to the next generation is what one will have to watch out for.
Here is a brief overview of some of the disputes that will occupy centre stage as a part of Padma Bhushan awardee Baba Kalyani’s challenges in 2024:
#1. Bharat Forge succession plan:
Baba Kalyani has been the head of Bharat Forge, India’s largest forging company, since 1972. He has transformed the company into a global leader in automotive components and defence products. However, he has not announced a clear succession plan for the company, which has raised concerns among investors and analysts. Baba has said that he will continue to lead Bharat Forge till he is 80 years old. The resolution to reappoint BN (Baba) Kalyani as Bharat Forge managing director has not gone down well with a majority of the company’s institutional shareholders as they voted against it. Over 53% of institutional shareholders voted against the special resolution to reappoint Kalyani as MD.
His son, Amit Kalyani, is the executive director of Bharat Forge, but he has not been given the full responsibility of running the company. Amit Kalyani too has a controversy of being involved in a suicide case. The complaint was filed after the accountant, Nilesh Ashok Gaikwad, was found dead in the bathroom of a hotel room in Chakan. An elaborate, 10-page suicide note was found in Gaikwad’s hotel room as reported in the Hindustan Times.
#2. Bharat Forge governance issues:
Baba Kalyani has also faced criticism for some of the governance practices at Bharat Forge. Baba Kalyani settled a case of alleged violation of SAST (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) norms in the matter of Bharat Forge Ltd (BFL) with markets regulator Sebi on a payment of Rs 3 lakh as reported by PTI in Dec 2022.
#3. Strained ties with Sister over Hikal ownership:
Baba Kalyani and his sister Sugandha Hiremath have been locked in a bitter legal battle over the ownership of Hikal. Sugandha, who has built the company ground up with her husband claims, that Baba agreed to transfer his 34% stake in Hikal to her as part of a family arrangement in 1994, but he denies any such agreement. The matter is pending before the Bombay High Court. In December 2023, Baba Kalyani lost his board seat at Hikal, as he failed to secure the required 75% votes from the shareholders to continue as a non-executive, non-independent director. Sugandha claims that both parents wanted Baba to give the shares to her and has written several letters to him. Yet the billionaire businessman has set his eyes on the Rs 1300 Cr. share. At the core of the dispute is the family deed which was prepared by Baba Kalyani’s father in the presence of Suresh Nadkarni, then Chairman of India’s markets regulator, SEBI and Narayanan Vaghul, the then chairman of ICICI Bank as reported in Mint.
The legal battle has revealed several letters exchanged between family members and Baba Kalyani where his strained relations between his father as well as his mother came out in the open.
Critics and the inner circle of the Pune society are quite amused. Sucheta Dalal, Journalist and Author of the famous The Scam, while referring to the dispute, had posted on her LinkedIn that “I am always perplexed when people whose wealth is in thousands of crores and can never be spent in their lifetime or two generations after, choose to fight so nastily within families. At the same time, there are so many wonderful people who have so little but are happy to give so generously to those in need!”
#4. Dragged to court by young niece:
Sheetal Kalyani, an economics graduate from Pennsylvania State University and Baba Kalyani’s niece has claimed one-ninth of the estate as her share. In a petition filed in 2014 in court Sheetal has claimed that her uncle Baba Kalyani and her cousin Amit Kalyani are denying her share of ancestral wealth, including stakes in listed companies. To tackle such issues, business families need to structure wealth in advance, and family trusts and family boards will the be way forward — the way it is in the western world — to maintain peace and harmony within the family.
Whether this renewed Indian will be able to mend soured family ties and emerge successfully like in his professional career is yet to be seen. But one thing is certain, Baba Kalyani is a living legend who will continue to steal the limelight for many years to come – both for the good deeds and those mired in controversies.
