Birlas
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Aditya Birla group
2023: new generation is inducted
January 31, 2023: The Times of India
Mumbai : The next generation of Birlas is set for bigger responsibilities at the $60-billion Aditya Birla Group. Kumar Mangalam Birla’s older daughter Ananya Birla and son Aryaman Vikram Birla have been inducted as directors on the board of Aditya Birla Management Corporation, the apex body that provides strategic direction to the group’s businesses. The two have also been inducted on the board of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, a listed entity.
This is the first time the scions will play an active role in the group even while they continue to manage their own entrepreneurial ventures. Ananya, 28, is an entrepreneur and platinum sellingsinger-songwriter. Her first company, Svatantra Microfin, which she founded when she was only 17, is among India’s fastest-growing microfinance institutions, having crossed an AUM of $1 billion. Her younger brother Aryaman, 25, comes with diverse experience in entrepreneurship, VC investing, and professional sport. TNN
Birlas
2007
Crossholdings in Birla companies: 2015
The Times of India, Dec 09 2015
Partha Sinha & Udit Prasanna Mukherji
Pilani Invest's NSE listing may help untangle Birla cos' cross-holdings
Move May Allow Harsh Lodha To Exit Entities Led By K M Birla
Pilani Investment & Industries, the holding company of some of the top Birla entities, was listed on the NSE on Tuesday . The listing could help untangle crossholdings in some of the companies led by Kumar Mangalam Birla in which Harsh Lodha of M P Birla group also owns substantial stakes.
Pilani Investment was earlier listed on the Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE) but halted trading in 2006 as the bourse itself stopped functioning. Pilani Investment made a comeback on Tuesday under Sebi's scheme to list stocks from de-recognized non-operational stock exchanges. Earlier, it used to be infrequently traded on the BSE and the NSE under the `permitted to trade' category . However, on the first day of trading for the stock, not even one share was traded, exchange data showed. Dealers could not assign any reasons for non-trading in the stock. Market players said a continuous listing could allow better price discovery for the stock, which in turn could prompt minority shareholders to look at exiting their holdings in the company .
Aditya Birla group chief Kumar Mangalam Birla, his relatives and associate companies currently hold 57.5% in Pilani Investment, while 23.3% is held by Harsh Lodha, son of Rajendra S Lodha, who was willed to inherit the Rs 6,500-crore M P Birla group empire by Priyamvada Birla, the wife of M P Birla, when she died in 2004. It may be noted that Kumar Mangalam Birla had earlier taken over the stakes of S K Birla, C K Birla and K K Birla in Pilani Investment.
According to industry watchers, the importance of Pilani Investment is its major holdings in Century Textiles and Kesoram Industries, both B K Birla group firms. Kumar Mangalam Birla is now a director on Century Textiles' board and is slotted to eventually inherit the firm under B K Birla's succession plan. Pilani Investment has a 30.6% stake in this diversified conglomerate which has interests in textiles, rayon, cement, paper and real estate. Exchange data showed that in FY15, Century Textiles had a turnover of Rs 7,559 crore and a net profit of Rs 15.5 crore. In Kesoram Industries too, Pilani Investment has a substantial 24.9% stake. In FY15, Kesoram Industries had a turnover of Rs 4,873 crore and a net loss of Rs 367 crore.Besides, Pilani Investment has a 1.5% stake in Hindalco and close to 1% in Aditya Birla Nuvo, both controlled by K M Birla. Harsh Lodha could also have some say in the running of Century Textiles and Kesoram Industries through his holdings in Pilani Investment.
Spokespersons for the two groups declined to comment on the implications of the listing of Pilani Investment on the NSE and the future plans of the two groups.
Till mid-1980s, Pilani Investment was the main holding company of the entire Birla group. However, over the years as the Birla family divided its assets among its heirs, some of the holdings of Pilani Investment were transferred to other family members. After the death of Priyamvada Birla in 2004, Lodhas, who did not belong to the Birla family , became shareholders in the company . The legal battle by the Birlas to oust Lodhas as the owners of the M P Birla group began soon after. The last trading price of Pilani Investment on the DSE was Rs 1,350. Going by the current valuation of Pilani's holdings in these companies, the current per share value of the stock works out to about Rs 2,800. Sources said that the intrinsic value of Pilani Investment shares could be more.
Sources close to the Birla family said that this listing can provide a window to the Lodhas to exit from Pilani Investment, which is currently almost a dead investment for him since the stock has not been traded for the last nine years. Going only by the valuation of Pilani Investment's holding in three Birla group companies, Lodha's 23.3% holding in the company is valued at about Rs 650 crore. In addition, given the disputes and the related legal battles, some control premium could also be expected for Lodha's stake in the company , market sources said. Also Century Textiles and Kesoram Industries, both of which have large land holdings, which may not reflect fully in the price soon after it is listed.
Grasim
MG Arun , Cementing Ties “:India Today” 21/8/2017
Stage one
The journey of Grasim Industries, a building materials and manufacturing company, is as old as that of independent India. The company was incorporated in 1947 as a textile manufacturer. Since then, Grasim has diversified into various new sectors and industries, including the production of viscose staple fibre (VSF), cement, sponge iron and chemicals.
Where we stand
A flagship of the Aditya Birla Group, Grasim is the world's largest producer and exporter of viscose rayon fibre, with a market share of about 24 per cent. Textiles and related products comprise about 15 per cent of the group's turnover. Other major businesses include cement and chemicals; its subsidiary, UltraTech Cement, is the largest producer of cement in India, and Grasim itself is the largest producer of caustic soda in the country. Recently, Aditya Birla Nuvo was merged into Grasim, paving the way for the creation of a $9.2 billion manufacturing and service business.
The journey
In 1950, the production of fabric began at its Gwalior unit, followed by VSF four years later at Nagda in Madhya Pradesh. In 1963, a composite textile mill was set up at Bhiwani in Haryana. It was in 1985 that Vikram Cement, Grasim's first cement plant, went on stream at Jawad in Madhya Pradesh. One of Grasim's major acquisitions has been of a controlling stake in UltraTech Cement from Larsen & Toubro in 2004.
