Valli Arunachalam, the daughter of former executive chairman M.V. Murugappan, has sent a legal notice to Ambadi Investments Ltd (AIL), Murugappa family members and others. This comes after the shareholders of AIL had last month voted against inducting her as a director in the Murugappa group’s holding company.
“I can, hereby, confirm that following careful and thorough deliberation and in consultation with our independent advisers, we have decided to seek legal remedies with respect to our ongoing efforts to settle my father’s will. Accordingly, we issued legal notices to the Murugappa family members, Ambadi Investments management, the company and other people in relation thereto,” she said in a statement.
The US-settled nuclear scientist has been fighting for a board seat and had earlier alleged that she was denied a berth because she was a woman.
“It was a big step for us and a very unfortunate one, as we have worked tirelessly over the course of the last three years to bring about an amicable settlement of my father’s interests in AIL. With the family voting unanimously to reject my appointment to the AIL board, we have seemingly reached the end of the road for an amicable settlement,” she added in the statement.
M.V. Murugappan passed away in September 2017, leaving a probate will bequeathing his 8.15 per cent stake in group holding firm Ambadi Investments to his wife and two daughters.
At the AGM of AIL last month, around 91.36 per cent of its shareholders voted against a resolution that proposed a board position to Arunachalam.
Pointing out that she had taken a “leave-no-stone-unturned’ approach to bring an amicable settlement, Arunachalam went on to say that these efforts included a proposal for the engagement of an independent mediator.
“Given how the Murugappa family has treated our family branch over the past three years, we have no confidence that our substantial stake in the family business will be safeguarded by them. Perhaps most confounding to us is that the Murugappa family has attempted to project their stand as principled and righteous,” she noted.
