Finolex feud sparks ouster of 2 directors

Another instance of promoter infighting affecting board composition at a listed entity happened at Hikal

- Nehal Chaliawala & Varun Sood

Promoter feud at Pune-based Finolex Cables Ltd has led to the rejection of two directors, making it the second public company in recent times where such discord led to the rejection of board members.

Over 93% of promoter votes were cast against the resolutions ratifying the appointment of Achyut Dhadphale as non-executive non-independent director and Kshtija Wadatkar as non-executive independent director, voting data from a stock exchange disclosure showed. Orbit Electricals Pvt. Ltd, a promoter entity controlling nearly 31% stake in Finolex Cables, likely voted against the resolutions. Prakash Chhabria, one of the promoters battling his cousin, holds a majority stake in Orbit.

At Finolex, two opposing camps led by Prakash and his cousin Deepak Chhabria have been battling for over seven years over control of the ₹16,000-crore company. They have been consistently voting against proposals backed by their respective rival camp, casting a cloud over interests of minority shareholders and sparking complaints over corporate governance.