Godrej Group Announces Split After 127 Years

Godrej Family Tree

Godrej was founded in 1897 by Ardeshir Godrej and his brother Pirojsha Burjorji Godrej. However, the former had no sons and the company went to Pirojsha who had four children – Sohrab, Dosa, Naval, and Burjor. Sohrab had no children, while Dosa had a child named Rishad

Godrej Group

  • Godrej Consumer Products Limited.
  • Godrej Infotech Ltd.
  • Godrej Industries Ltd.
  • Godrej Properties Ltd.
  • Godrej Agrovet.
  • Godrej & Boyce.
  • Godrej Aerospace.
  • Godrej Housing Finance Ltd

Godrej Share Holding Pattern

However, the shareholding pattern of Godrej stocks is worth mentioning. The promoters holding remained unchanged at 67.17% , while that of the foreign institutions at 10.41%, banks and mutual funds at 1.42%, general public at 5.82%, various financial institutions at 0.71%, and others at 14.47%

1897

Key to success Ardeshir Godrej, after a few failed ventures, sets up a lock company. For him, the key to success turns out to be locks. 1918 World’s first vegetable oil soap We launch Chavi, the first soap in the world to be made without animal fat. We score not only for Swadeshi, but also ahim sa.

1922 Endorsed by our freedom fighters Our products are endorsed by stalwarts
like Annie Besant and Rabindranath Tagore. Mahatma Gandhi, in a letter to a
favour seeking competitor, says: “I hold my brother Godrej in such high regard
that if your enterprise is likely to harm  him in any way, I regret very much that I
cannot give you my blessings.

1951BALLOT BOX

Ballot boxes for India’s
first elections We were thrilled to make 1.7 million ballot for India’s first steps democracy.K. R. Thanewalla remembers, “I know that our best was around 22000 ballot boxes per day! We would be at the plant from quarter to seven on wards and  rarely left before midnight.

1952CNTHOL SOAP

Cinthol is launched on the Indian
Independence Day. Together with Godrej No.1, Cinthol makes us the second largest soap player in India

1958

Refrigerator sIn many parts of India, as the saying goes,there are three seasons: hot, hotter, hottest.We make a strong entry into the home appliances market with our first refrigerator.

1974

Hair Colour Our first hair colour product, a liquid hair
dye, is a runaway success. We build on  this and introduce a series of innovative
hair care products through the years,becoming a leading player in Asia, Africa
and Latin America

1990

Properties
We establish Godrej Properties, which brings the Group’s philosophy of
innovation and excellence to the real estate industry in India

Godrej Industries Group — which includes the listed companies – Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences — will have Nadir Godrej as chairperson and will be controlled by Adi, Nadir and their immediate families.

Pirojsha Godrej, 42, son of Adi, will be the executive vice chairperson of GIG and will succeed Nadir as the chairperson in August 2026, the statement said.

In the statement, the Godrej family termed the split as “an ownership realignment” of the shareholdings in the Godrej companies.

“The realignment has been arrived at in a respectful and mindful way to maintain harmony and to better align ownership in acknowledgement of the differing visions of the Godrej family members,” it said.

“This will help maximize strategic direction, focus, and agility, and will accelerate the process of creating long-term value for shareholders and all other stakeholders.” Both Groups will continue to use the Godrej brand and are committed to growing and strengthening their shared heritage.

Lawyer-turned-serial entrepreneur Ardeshir Godrej and his brother in 1897 succeeded at locksmithing after failed ventures into hand-fashioned medical devices.

Ardeshir did not have any children, and so the group was inherited by his younger brother Pirojsha. Pirojsha had four children – Sohrab, Dosa, Burjor and Naval.

Over the years, the helm of the group came to the children of Burjor (Adi and Nadir) and Naval (Jamshyd and Smita) as Sohrab had no children while Dosa had one child Rishad, who had no children.

To enable the split, the two sides quit the boards of companies in rival camps. So, Adi and Nadir Godrej resigned from the Godrej & Boyce Board, while Jamshyd Godrej left his seat on the boards of GCPL and Godrej Properties.

Unconfirmed reports say Adi and Nadir Godrej will divest their stakes in Godrej & Boyce to the other branch. Jamshyd Godrej and his side of the family will transfer interests in Godrej Consumer Products (GCPL) and Godrej Properties to their cousins through a family arrangement.

Real estate worth crores of rupees, mostly in prime land in Mumbai suburbs, will remain under Godrej & Boyce (G&B), and a separate agreement will be worked out to govern the ownership rights.

It owns 3,400 acres of land in Mumbai, including a 3,000-acre parcel in Vikhroli, Mumbai. The Vikhroli land by some estimates has a development potential of over ₹ 1 lakh crore. It can develop 1,000 acres, while about 1,750 acres are covered with mangroves and is the destination of rare plants and birds. About 300 acres of land have already been encroached upon.

The Vikhroli property was bought by Pirojsha at a public auction from the Bombay High Court receiver in 1941-42. It was previously owned by a Parsi merchant Framjee Banaji, who bought it from the East India Company in the 1830s.

Adi is currently chairman of Godrej Group. His brother Nadir is chairman of Godrej Industries and Godrej Agrovet. Their cousin Jamshyd is chairman of the unlisted Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing company. His sister Smita Crishna and Rishad Godrej also hold a stake in Godrej & Boyce, which owns most of the property in Vikhroli.

A couple of years back, Jamshyd roped in investment banker Nimesh Kampani and lawyer Zia Mody to advise him on separating the land ownership. Kotak Mahindra Bank’s Uday Kotak and Cyril Shroff of legal firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas were assisting Adi.

According to the statement, the realignment will be implemented after the relevant regulatory approvals have been obtained.

“Godrej Enterprises Group (GEG) comprises Godrej & Boyce (G&B) and its affiliates, which have a presence across multiple industries spanning aerospace, aviation, defence, engines and motors, energy, security, building materials, construction, green building consulting, EPC services, intralogistics, healthcare equipment, durables, furniture, interior design, architectural fittings, IT, software as well as infrastructure solutions.

“This group will now be controlled by Jamshyd Godrej, chairperson and managing director, Nyrika Holkar, Executive Director, and their immediate families,” it said.

Godrej Industries Group (GIG), which includes the listed companies, Godrej Industries, Godrej Consumer Products, Godrej Properties, Godrej Agrovet and Astec Lifesciences will have Nadir Godrej as Chairperson and will be controlled by Adi Godrej, Nadir Godrej, and their immediate families.

“Pirojsha Godrej will be the Executive Vice Chairperson of GIG and will succeed Nadir Godrej as the Chairperson in August 2026,” it said.

Commenting on the future outlook, Jamshyd Godrej said: “Since 1897, Godrej & Boyce has always been driven by the strong purpose of nation building. With this future-facing family agreement now in place, we can further drive our growth aspirations with fewer complexities and focus on leveraging our core strengths in high-tech engineering and design-led innovation across our strong portfolio of strategic, consumer and emerging businesses”.

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