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Ambanis agree to split empire
Mukesh and Anil have agreed to legally split the Reliance empire, claimed a TV report.
The feuding Ambani brothers, Mukesh and Anil, agreed to a legal split to put an end to the ownership battle in the Reliance Group, a leading TV channel reported on Thursday night but the flagship company Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) denied any knowledge.
Aaj Tak reported that the Ambani family — mother Kokilaben, Mukesh, Chairman of Reliance Industries Limited, younger brother Anil, Vice Chairman of the company, and two sisters Deepti and Neena, had agreed on December 28 on a settlement, under which 34 per cent of the RIL equity held by the family and the private companies in business empire would be divided among the four siblings.
There was no word from the camp of Anil Ambani, who spent the day in Delhi holding important meetings, notably with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Company Affairs Minister Prem Chand Gupta and other senior Government officials.
The spokesperson of Anil Ambani could not be contacted despite several attempts.
An Aaj Tak release said ICICI Bank Chairman KV Kamath would work out the details of the separation and would function as the arbitrator. Kamath would be doing this in his personal capacity and as a family friend, it added.
Under the pact, the ownership will be aligned with management. RIL would not be divided but restructured, the release said.
The December 28 meeting, where the decision of the brothers to part ways was held on the birth anniversary of Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani, father of Mukesh and Anil, at the Amabni residence Seawind in Mumbai and was attended by Kokilaben, the two brothers and two sisters along with their husbands.
