Succession, an Indian saga

The sudden death of Sona Comstar chairman Sunjay Kapur has sparked a legal battle for his vast assets, involving his wife, mother, and two children from a previous marriage. As court hearings resume today, experts say there's a need for clear succession plans to be laid down by corporate families in India, given the impact long-drawn-out legal battles can have on the market

- GULVEEN AULAKH & BHAVINI MISHRA

It all started on the afternoon of June 12, when Delhi-based industrialist Sunjay Kapur collapsed and passed away while playing a polo match in Windsor, UK, after suffering a heart attack. The sudden death of the billionaire chairman of Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd (it trades as Sona Comstar) left his family and the industry in shock.

In the three months that have followed, the story has moved from a focus on the future of the auto-component maker to a battle for Kapur’s estate. With the matter having reached the courts, people close to the proceedings say the dispute appears to be veering towards what comprises his estate — specifically, whether it includes his holding in Sona Comstar.

The legacy

Kapur’s vast assets stem from his inheritance of Sona Group, an auto component conglomerate built by his father, Surinder Kapur. In 2015, Sunjay took over the business following his father’s death. By 2016, with a final assembly and finishing plant in Hangzhou, China, every second car in India had a Sona component. Over the years, new plants in the US and India were added, and in 2019, the company adopted the brand name Sona Comstar.

In 2021, when Sona Comstar went public, it was valued at ₹17,000 crore. As of June 10 this year, its market capitalisation stood at ₹32,118 crore, according to NSE, and it is now part of the Nifty Midcap 150 Index. Sunjay held 28 per cent in Sona Comstar through promoter entity Aureus Investment Private Ltd (AIPL), which is the single largest shareholder of the company. Rani Kapur-RK Family Trust and Raghuvanshi Investment Pvt Ltd, promoter group entities, own 65 per cent and 27 per cent, respectively, of AIPL.

On July 25, Sona Comstar said it was informed in May 2019 that Sunjay was declared the sole beneficiary-owner of RK Family Trust.

The dispute