To separate management from ownership,billionaire brothers Malvinder and Shivinder Mohan Singh on Tuesday stepped down from the board of Religare Enterprises,a financial services firm founded by them in 1984. The two denied that the move was a precursor to their selling off the firm to focus solely on the healthcare business through Fortis Healthcare. Announcing the appointment of the current Religare CEO Sunil Godhwani as its new chairman and managing director,Malvinder and Shivinder said they would now focus on transforming the healthcare business.
Tuesdays announcement also saw current chief operating officer Shachindra Nath being designated as CEO of the company. Both Nath and group CFO Anil Saxena have been inducted on Religares board.
The company plans to bring on the Religare board three new faces with global expertise in asset management,investment and commercial banking.
The stock markets seem to have welcomed the move with the companys shares closing 1.6% up at Rs 395 on the BSE on Tuesday. The Singh brothers have a combined shareholding of 57% in Religare Enterprises.
The brothers with a combined net worth of $3-billion plan to focus their energies on the healthcare businesses,Fortis Healthcare Ltd and their recent acquisition Parkway Holdings Ltd.