Godrej family seals deal to split 127-year-old conglomerate

While Adi Godrej (left) and his brother Nadir will be keeping Godrej Industries that has five listed firms, his cousins Jamshyd (right) and Smita will be getting unlisted Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates and a land bank, including prime properties in Mumbai.

The Godrej family has sealed the deal to amicably split the 127-year-old conglomerate that spans from production of soaps and home appliances to real estate.

While Adi Godrej and his brother Nadir will be keeping Godrej Industries that has five listed firms, his cousins Jamshyd and Smita will be getting unlisted Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates and a land bank, including prime properties in Mumbai.

According to a statement issued by the group, the conglomerate has been split into two parts with Adi Godrej and his brother on one side and their cousins Jamshyd Godrej and Smita Godrej Crishna on the other.

Godrej Enterprises Group — comprising Godrej & Boyce and its affiliates that have a presence across multiple industries spanning aerospace and aviation to defence, furniture and IT software — will be controlled by Jamshyd Godrej as chairperson and managing director. His sister Smita’s daughter Nyrika Holkar, 42, will be the executive director.

Their families will also hold the land bank, including 3,400 acres of prime land in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, 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.

Adi Godrej

Industrialist Adi Godrej. (Express Archives)

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

The Godrej family has 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 read. “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.”

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.

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 Rs 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 while 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.

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,” the statement read.

Reacting to the split, 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.”

“Godrej was founded in 1897 to help build economic independence for India. This deep purpose of innovating for a cause — the values of trust and respect and the belief in trusteeship and making communities that the companies operate in stronger and better – continue to form the bedrock of who we are 125 years later. We look forward to building on this legacy with focus and agility,” Nadir Godrej said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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