Days after saying she will drag the Murugappa family members to court for rejecting her nomination to the board of Ambady Investments, Valli Arunachalam has said the family’s complete failure to act in a constructive manner to date shows they are primarily concerned with continuing to exercise control over the assets of her late father’s estate rather than allowing her family an exit or the same degree of control and visibility that the other members enjoy.
“My family has been rendered helpless outsiders by virtue of my father having only female heirs,” she told FE in an exclusive email interview from the US.
She said she has full confidence in the Indian courts. “We will take the next step as advised by our advisers. We are considering our options at this stage, but since the family has rejected all our attempts for an amicable settlement, it seems we are not left with any other choice,” she said.
Asked if someone has reached out to her after her threat to take legal action, Arunachalam said the family would be best suited to answer the question. “The reality of the situation is that we offered numerous means, including neutral third-party mediation, by which this matter could have been settled amicably, out of court and out of the media glare. Sadly, all our proposals were summarily rejected by the family,” she said.
On what she thinks was the reason for majority of the family members voting against her, Arunachalam said she has not been given any reason. “It’s strange to think there will be a reason when the shareholding was the same percentage and I am older and more qualified than some of the family members who have been appointed on the board from time to time. Substantially, the only differentiating factor we have identified is that I am a female,” she said.
Asked if she is still open to selling their stakes either to family members or outsiders, Arunachalam, karta of MV Murugappan HUF, said their wish had always been to settle the matter amicably within the family, but since the family had rejected all such attempts, they are exploring a range of options.
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