Bajaj crisis unlikely to intensify further

The apparent split in the Bajaj family—with Shishir Bajaj, brother of Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj, moving to drift away from the fa...

The apparent split in the Bajaj family—with Shishir Bajaj, brother of Bajaj Auto chairman Rahul Bajaj, moving to drift away from the family business—is unlikely to widen further, with the other Bajaj brothers holding on together.

The move has once again strengthened the view that separation in a family-owned business seems to be a natural and desirable process. In the case of the Bajaj family, however, it is only one brother who is moving away, the rest four —Rahul, Shekhar, Madhur and Niraj—are clung together. Shishir Bajaj, who controls Bajaj Hindustan, has evinced an interest to separate from the family business, along with his sons Kushagra and Apoorva.

Rahul seeks to keep family together

MUMBAI: A split in the House of Bajaj has been on the horizon for two years. While the unhappy situation has been sensed by corporate insiders for quite some time, an emotional Bajaj Auto CMD Rahul Bajaj admits that he hoped that any imminent split in his joint family won’t come out in the open. He now hopes things may still be prevented to reach a point of no return, if everyone keeps quiet, and he’s therefore unwilling to provide additional fuel.

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However, Bajaj is quick to point out that it has been over two years since Shishir Bajaj had expressed a desire to go his separate ways from the family business. “The matter is being currently discussed internally in the family. I cannot comment more at this juncture, I feel a sense of responsibility, but I reserve the right to speak later,” he said in Mumbai.

“This has been going on for some time. I can speak on behalf of the four of us— Shekhar, Madhur, Niraj and myself. However, I can’t speak on behalf of Shishir. He is abroad and soon all five brothers will be talking and, if possible, an amicable solution will be found,” he said.

This sub-text is clear enough. That the Bajaj Auto chief is trying hard to keep his family together even as brother Shishir (and Shishir’s son) are hell bent on breaking away.

The promoter holding in Bajaj Auto, the Bajaj group flagship is around 47 per cent. Of this, the total Bajaj family holding is around 26 per cent. “Shishir has around 21 per cent of the family holding which works around to about 5 per cent of the total shareholding of the company,” Bajaj added.

While Rahul Bajaj’s sons, Rajiv and Sanjiv, have followed in the footsteps of their father, Madhur Bajaj has two daughters, of whom one (Nimisha) is still pursuing her studies and does not seem interested in running a business, while the second, Nilima, who is very much interested in marketing, has taken up a stint outside the family business, with multinational Coca-Cola India.

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The next generation of the other two brothers are yet young enough to take on the family’s responsibility. Niraj Bajaj’s children, Nirav and Kriti, are still in school, while Shekhar Bajaj’s son Anant is completing formal education.

Industry observers do not see another split in the Bajaj family—not as yet. Though Anant would, in a few years, be saddled with some responsibility of the family business, sources close to the family do not see a future split here as the issue of a separation is being paralleled with that of a personality issue of sorts. “Entrepreneurship more often than not is hindered by rigid rules than encouraged,” as an industry observer puts it.

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