Sona Comstar says Rani Kapur not a shareholder; confirms rejecting her request to postpone AGM
Also read: Sona BLW Precision holds AGM despite Rani Kapur's objection and questions on son Sunjay's 'suspicious' death
Sona Comstar, which has been a publicly listed company since June 2021, noted that 71.98% of its shareholding is with the public, while the remaining 28.02% is held by its corporate promoter, Aureus Investments Private Limited (AIPL).
The company said that in May 2019, it had received a declaration of significant beneficial ownership that identified the late Sunjay Kapur as the sole beneficial owner of the RK Family Trust, a significant shareholder in AIPL. It added that, as per its records, 'Mrs. Rani Kapur has not been a shareholder of the Company at least since 2019.'
ET Online had earlier reported that Rani Kapur had written to the company's Board and shareholders requesting a deferment of the 29th Annual General Meeting of Sona Comstar.
In her communication, Kapur cited the 'deep mourning' period following the death of her son, Sunjay Kapur, on June 12 in the United Kingdom, and urged the company to postpone the meeting. She described the circumstances surrounding his death as 'sudden and suspicious' and alleged that no formal explanation or documentation had been shared with her.Kapur also alleged that she was made to sign several documents in a vulnerable state after her son's passing, without being informed of their content. 'The contents of such documents have never been revealed to me,' she wrote, adding that these documents were 'executed by me under coercion and duress… at a time of mental and emotional vulnerability," Kapur said in the letter accessed by ET Online. She raised objections to recent developments within the company's leadership, claiming that Board appointments were being pursued without her knowledge or consent. 'I have not given any consent or officially nominated any person to come on the Board... or represent me in any capacity,' she stated.
Also read: Sunjay Kapur's death 'suspicious', compelled to sign documents: Rani Kapur has a lot to say in this letter to Sona Comstar board Kapur further called for a two-week deferment of the AGM, citing inadequate transparency and saying the proposed resolutions 'could have long-term implications.' Her legal representative, Senior Advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, confirmed the contents of her letter to ANI and said she was not initiating legal proceedings at the moment but was seeking a pause in proceedings to ensure informed decision-making.Sunjay Kapur, Chairman of Sona Comstar and a prominent figure in Indian business circles, passed away in London on June 12, 2025. He reportedly suffered a heart attack while playing polo in the United Kingdom.His final rites were conducted at the Lodhi Road Cremation Ground in New Delhi on June 19 in the presence of close family members and associates.Sunjay Kapur had previously been married to actor Karisma Kapoor, with whom he has two children—Samaira and Kiaan. The couple divorced in 2016. He later married Priya Sachdev, and the couple has a son named Azarias.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
9 minutes ago
- NDTV
Inheritance Wars: Ambani, Modi, Now Kapur. India's Mega Family Feuds
Rani Kapur, the mother of businessman Sunjay Kapur, made dramatic allegations Friday - of being locked in a room and forced to sign documents by "certain people" (read, her daughter-in-law, Priya Sachdev Kapur) trying to "usurp the family legacy" and gain control of the Sona Group. The Sona Group, of which Sunjay Kapur was Chairman till his death in June, represents a business empire with a presence in the agriculture, textiles, construction, IT, education, and biotech spaces, and which has a market capitalisation of nearly Rs 30,000 crore. In her letter Ms Kapur demanded an AGM be postponed and claimed she had been coerced into signing documents. She also said she, as the majority shareholder, had not been consulted in the appointment of her daughter-in-law as a non-executive director of the board. Priya Sachdev Kapur has yet to respond, but the company has said Ms Kapur has not been a shareholder since 2019. Whatever the truth may be, and it is likely that truth will be buried under a mountain of allegations, counter-allegations, the Kapur family drama is far from the first of its kind. Over the past several years many prominent business clans have fought amongst themselves for control of the millions in the coffers, particularly after the death of the family head. Last year, for example, the family of Modi Enterprises Chairman Krishan Kumar Modi, who died in 2019, went to court over an inheritance in excess of Rs 11,000 crore. Mr Modi's will stipulated that his wealth be divided equally between his wife, Bina; two sons, Samir and Lalit; and daughter, Charu. However, in February 2024 Samir Modi filed a lawsuit claiming Bina Modi had violated the terms of his father's trust and mishandled company affairs. He sought the dissolution of the trust. Samir and Charu Modi had initially supported Bina Modi and the family trust, but Lalit Modi, the founder of the lucrative Indian Premier League cricket tournament, had demanded otherwise. Eventually it became Samir and Lalit vs Bina, but shareholders of Godfrey Philips, the group's flagship brand, then stepped in, backing the latter and removing the former from the board. But that has not settled the inheritance row. Neither Samir nor Lalit Modi have chosen to relinquish their shares in the company to their mother, which would signal their surrender. And so, the Modi family feud rumbles on, albeit beneath the surface for now. Going back a year further, there is the Oberoi story. After family patriarch Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi - the famous hotelier whose EIH Ltd is valued at around Rs 9,000 crore and who built the Oberoi and Trident hotel chains, died in November 2023 - there was a scrabble for power and money. The central characters are Anastasia Oberoi, a daughter from his second marriage, her stepsiblings Vikramjit and Natasha, and a cousin, Arjun. And the plot twist here are two wills - one made in 1992 and another in 2021, and a codicil (or amendment) made in 2022. The stepsiblings and cousin back the 1992 will and the daughter backs the 2022 codicil, which grants her mother and her certain properties and financial assets. The late Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (File). She has accused the former three of trying to obstruct this division. In November last year, after she approached the Delhi High Court, there seemed to be a thaw, and she attended an AGM in which the warring family members made certain assurances. The Oberoi and Modis are just two examples of family squabbles over mega inheritances. Then there was with the Ambani clan after patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani died intestate in 2002. His sons, Mukesh and Anil, fought for control till mother Kokilaben sat them down and brokered peace, dividing the massive Reliance empire between them. The brothers, nevertheless, continued to squabble publicly for years, often even competing for assets and contracts. In 2018 there seemed to be some reconciliation after Mukesh bailed Anil out of trouble by paying over Rs 400 crore to rescue his struggling telecom-to-infrastructure company. But the younger Ambani's fortunes haven't really improved since then, with the Enforcement Directorate this week raiding locations linked to his business over alleged loan scams. NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.
Time of India
35 minutes ago
- Time of India
Sona shareholders give overwhelming thumbs up to Sanjay Kaupur's wife as director amid family feud
Rani Kapur , mother of the late Sanjay Kapur , asked Sona BLW Precision last week to postpone its scheduled Annual General Meeting on July 25, alleging several irregularities in the way the Kapur family's interests were being represented in the business after her son's sudden demise last month. Kapur was the Chairman of Sona and he passed away after an alleged bee attack while playing polo. But Sona did not heed Rani's request, the AGM went ahead as scheduled and among other decisions, the company's shareholders overwhelmingly supported the appointment of Sanjay's wife Priya Sachdev Kapur as a non-executive director. Priya's appointment is for five years. It is interesting to see that amid all the whispers of a family feud and innuendos about Priya's nomination - which is believed to be one of the reasons behind Rani Kapur's request to postpone the AGM though the matriarch has not said this publicly - an overwhelming 99.4 per cent of the shareholders who were present and voting cast their votes in Priya's favour. Also Read: Sunjay's mom challenges wife's posting as Sona Comstar director In fact, of the four director-level appointments for which voting was conducted on the AGM day, only the reappointment of MD and CEO Vivek Vikram Singh as a director received slightly higher vote share, making it clear that at least as far as shareholders were concerned, the appointment of Priya was given a thumbs up. At the AGM, the appointment of Jeffery Mark Overly as chairman was also approved; Overly succeeded Sanjay. Sona was promoted by Rani's husband, the late Surinder Kapur. As of March 31 this year, however, the promoter shareholding of 28.02 per cent in Sona was held by Aureus Investment Private Limited, a company in which Priya is a director while Rani may not hold any stake at all in Aureus. As per Sona's annual report for 2024-25, Rani Kapur held just 72 shares in it as on March 31, 2005. And in a regulatory filing, Sona has said that in May 2019, it received a declaration of significant beneficial ownership 'identifying Shri Sunjay Kapur as the sole beneficial owner of RK Family Trust, a significant shareholder of AIPL (Aureus). As per company records, Mrs. Rani Kapur has not been a shareholder of the company since at least 2019'. Meanwhile, the annual report also sheds some more light on the process of appointment of Priya as a non-executive director. First of all, her appointment is dated June 23 and is, thus, not a recent development. Also Read: Sona Comstar rejects Rani Kapur's call to defer AGM, cites compliance, governance norms Second, her appointment was done after the recommendation of the Nomination and Remuneration Committee of the board of directors and upon receipt of her nomination from one of the members in writing. Third, the appointment was subject to approval by the shareholders, which is now in place. Fourth, Priya is showcased as a highly talented individual with a diverse set of skills and vast business experience. A double masters in Mathematics and Business Management, Priya is a former investment banker and 'luxury retail pioneer'. She began her professional life with Credit Suisse First Boston in London and as per the Sona annual report, Priya has led ventures in automotive retail, insurance and high fashion. Among the board level skills listed against her name are: Strategic planning, thinking and management; global exposure; accounting and legal; and regulatory compliance. Subsequent to her appointment on the board, Priya has also been made the chairperson of Sona's CSR committee. The feud: Rani Kapur has raised questions about the ownership structure of Aureus, the company through which the Kapur family owns 28.02 per cent stake in Sona BLW Precision. Reports have suggested that the matriarch has alleged she was made to sign several documents without knowing their content and that she was suspicious of the cause of death of Sanjay. Though nothing has been said about any opposition to Priya's appointment as a director in Sona after Sanjay's demise, the very fact that Aureus' shareholding is being questioned automatically brings the spotlight on to the late Chairman's wife and her role at Sona. Vaibhav Gaggar, the lawyer representing Rani Kapur, meanwhile sought more time to respond to questions over the entire dispute.
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
Why are Sona BLW shares rising despite weak trends in Indian stock market today?
Sona BLW share price rose over 2% on Monday, defying broader market weakness. Sona BLW shares gained as much as 2.14% to ₹ 479.50 apiece on the BSE after shareholders approved the appointment of Priya Sachdev Kapur as a Non-Executive Director at the company's AGM on July 25. The development comes amid a family dispute following the sudden demise of company Chairman and Non-Executive Director Sunjay Kapur on June 19 due to cardiac arrest. On June 23, the board appointed Jeffrey Mark Overly as the new Chairperson and inducted Priya Sachdev Kapur, Sunjay's wife, as an Additional Director of Sona BLW Precision Forgings. However, the move has drawn objections from Rani Kapur, Sunjay's mother and former chairperson of the Sona Group. In a letter dated July 24, she alleged that the AGM was held while the family was mourning and claimed she was coerced into signing undisclosed documents. She also asserted that, as the sole beneficiary of late Surinder Kapur's 2015 Will, she is the majority shareholder of the Sona Group. Sona Comstar has denied these allegations and clarified that, as per company records, Rani Kapur has not been a shareholder since 2019. The company said the AGM was held in full compliance with regulatory norms, and Priya's appointment received 99.44% shareholder approval. Rani Kapur has further raised concerns over the 'suspicious' circumstances surrounding her son's death in the UK, stating she has not consented to any board nominations. Sona BLW share price has gained 2% in three months and has fallen 5% in the past six months. The stock has dropped 20% on a year-to-date (YTD) basis, while it has declined 31% in one year. Sona BLW shares have fallen 16% in two years. At 12:25 PM, Sona BLW share price was trading 0.49% higher at ₹ 471.75 apiece on the BSE. Disclaimer: The views and recommendations made above are those of individual analysts or broking companies, and not of Mint. We advise investors to check with certified experts before making any investment decisions.
