‘No woman from family on the board for 119 years and counting’

The shareholders of Ambadi Investments (AIL), the holding company of the ~38,100-crore Murugappa Group, have voted against the induction of VALLI ARUNACHALAM, the eldest daughter of former executive chairman M V Murugappan, into its board. In an email Interaction with T E Narasimhan, the Us-based Arunachalam shares her views on outcome of the annual general meeting and her next course of action. Edited excerpts:

What will be your and your family’s next course of action?

I will continue to fight, and the decision taken by the family will not deter our efforts to seek justice and gender equality.

On what grounds will you approach the court?

We will take the next steps as advised by our advisors in this regard. We are considering our options at this stage, but since the family has rejected all our attempts of amicable settlement, it seems we are not left with any other choice. I have full confidence in the Indian courts in any event to see through the evil designs and hyper technical grounds of the family members treating us in the manner they have been over the last few years.

Did you approach the board or any other family member, especially senior ones, before or after the annual general meeting (AGM)?

We have been writing to the family members over the past two years in the hope to discuss the issues and amicably settle the same within the family itself.

Recently, even my mother wrote individual letters to all senior family members / shareholders reminding them of the contributions made by my late father and asking them to reconsider their biased approach against us and settle the matter amicably, especially in view of the fact that we are legally and rightfully entitled to the demands being made to the family.

However, nothing has elicited a positive response from any member of the family.

We have not reached out to anyone in the family after the AGM.

Will you and your family consider selling the stake? Did you put forth this option before the other family members or the board?

Given that my family’s involvement in the businesses of the operating companies has been largely limited after my father passed away, we would like to be settled and would like for the family to absorb our stake in AIL.

This is also consistent with my late father’s wishes. This has already been communicated to the family members various times over the past two years, but we have not been able to get the family to agree to a resolution for the same.

They have been very reluctant in not only purchasing our shares/stake at fair value but also, in the alternative, granting me due representation on the board of the company.

The offer was communicated to all the family branches who are taking similar stands and acting together in concert, as is evident from the voting. We are exploring all possible options at this point of time regarding the shares.

You said your family proposed many ways in which they could settle the matter amicably. What were the options you proposed? Why didn’t the board or the family consider them? There were different modes of settlement offered, details of which I would not want to put forth at this stage — including neutral third-party mediation, all of which were rejected by the family.

I think the family would be best suited to answer your second question. And no matter what they come up with, their conduct is writ large on the face of it. No woman from the family in the board for 119 years and counting.