Next in Kalyani saga: Bro’s Rs 1,300 crore Bharat Forge stake under spotlight

MUMBAI: As Bharat Forge CMD Baba Kalyani and his sister, Sugandha Hiremath, battle over the existence of a ‘household association‘ which is essential to the possession dispute in Hikal, one other facet of the pact involving youthful brother, Gaurishankar, has come to mild.
According to a clause in the household association inked between Baba and his mother and father on June 19, 1994, Gaurishankar, who owns practically 3% in Bharat Forge, is required to switch his stake to his older brother after the demise of their mother and father. Their father, Neelkanth Kalyani, died in 2013, whereas their mom, Sulochana Kalyani, handed away on February 25, 2023. The 3% stake in Bharat Forge is value Rs 1,300 crore.
The clause types a part of the broader household association that additionally requires Baba to switch his whole 34% stake in Hikal to his sister, who’s the non-executive director of the prescribed drugs and chemical compounds firm. Baba owns the Hikal stake by way of the publicly-listed Kalyani Investment and BF Investment.

With Baba denying the existence of such a household association, Gaurishankar’s 3% stake in Bharat Forge has come under the spotlight. Baba could lose this stake in his flagship, which has a market capitalisation of greater than Rs 47,567 crore.
In an August 12 inventory trade disclosure, Kalyani Investment and BF Investment stated the Hikal shares they maintain “are not the subject matter of any family arrangement as alleged”. “We gather from the written statement submitted by Baba Kalyani with the Bombay HC in relation to the suit filed by Sugandha Hiremath that he has denied the existence of the so-called family agreement.”
The two companies stated the go well with is pending and accordingly, the existence of the purported household association is a matter which is sub-judice. Gaurishankar owns a 2.67% stake in Bharat Forge by way of 10 privately held firms like Jannhavi Investment, Yusmarg Investment, and Dandakaranya Investment.
Emails despatched to Baba and Rohini Kalyani, spouse of Gaurishankar, in search of feedback did not elicit any response until the time of going to press.