Murugappa family feud: Valli Arunachalam settles case over gender bias with family members

The Murugappa family who are the promoters of Chennai based diversified Murugappa Group has announced a settlement agreement with Valli Arunachalam and other members of the family. With this, the group has put an end to the fight over board representation that arose after the death of former Murugappa group chairman MV Murugappan.

Without disclosing the details, the family in a statement has said that the family members have agreed to settle the dispute between late MV Murugappan's family and the rest of the clan. The members of the Murugappa family first discussed and concluded the terms of the family arrangement amongst themselves at a meeting in the presence of their respective advisors. As per the statement the family members would complete the necessary transactions within the next 90 days.

“The family arrangement ensures that all the issues between the members will be setled, and they are happy that they have agreed to resolve this amicably. The terms of the family arrangement itself are confidential", said representatives for the family members.

The statement also said that the settlement does not involve any of the listed companies forming part of the Murugappa group.

"No listed company forming part of the Murugappa Group is a party to the family arrangement, and nothing in the family arrangement relates to the management or control of, or grants any special rights to the parties in, any such companies", said the statement.

The Feud

The Murugappa feud caught the public attention when Valli Arunachalam - eldest daughter of former group chairman late MV Murugappa decided to fight gender bias within the Murugappa group. Arunachalam had accused her uncles and cousin brothers of denying her a seat on the board because of her gender. Valli Arunachalam, her sister and their mother, has been demanding a board seat in Murugappa Group’s holding company Ambadi Investments (AIL) or a suitable value for their 8.23% holdings in the entity.

As per media reports, MV Murugappa who passed away in 2017 bequeathed everything for his wife Valli Murugappan and daughters. According to his will, the Murugappa family business spanned over five generations. The family holds 91% stake in the public unlisted company.

"In August 2019, we asked for a board position. I have been repeatedly following up with them and asked them for meeting, but it has fallen on deaf ears. Every branch of the third generation has a representation on the Ambadi board, except ours," Valli Arunachalam had told Business Today.

Over the 120 years since its launch, this was the first time that a patriarch of the Murugappa family had passed away without a ‘male’ heir. Valli Arunachalam who is the fourth generation of the family has been fighting her uncles to change the patriarchal norms in the inheritance prospect of the company.

"The family has always had this unwritten rule of not allowing women to get trained in the family business. So, while we are well trained and can very easily plug into the family business, we have never been given that opportunity", Arunachalam had told Business Today. She further went on to allege that male heirs with less qualification and experience warrants a position in the board. She had also alleged that the current patriarch MV Subbiah endorses that policy.