Cholamandalam Investment rejects report on Vellayan Subbiah exit, says claims 'baseless'

Cholamandalam Investment and Finance Company on Thursday denied a media report that its executive chairman Vellayan Subbiah would exit the firm as part of a Murugappa family settlement, calling the claims "factually incorrect and entirely baseless" in an exchange filing.

In a clarification sent to both the BSE and the National Stock Exchange of India, the company said it had received a statement from Subbiah’s office rejecting the report and affirming that he continues in his role for his approved five-year term from April 1, 2025 to March 31, 2030.

The filing added that there has been no change in management control or ownership structure across group businesses and that the existing leadership arrangement "continues unchanged." It reiterated that Subbiah and M A M Arunachalam oversee key group firms including Tube Investments of India, CG Power and Industrial Solutions and Cholamandalam Investment along with their subsidiaries.


Cholamandalam Investment share price was last down 2.2% at Rs 1,716.60 as of 12:47 pm.

The statement was issued in response to a February 26 news report which said Subbiah was eyeing an exit from Cholamandalam Investment as part of a broader realignment within the Murugappa Group promoter family. The report, citing sources, had said discussions were underway to divide ownership of key companies among different family branches while maintaining operational continuity.

According to that report, Subbiah was conducting diligence on restructuring his interests and could shift focus toward other listed group firms, while negotiations among promoter factions had been ongoing for more than two years. It also said rising investor interest and valuation shifts across group companies were factors shaping internal deliberations.

The company’s rebuttal underscores sensitivities around leadership and ownership changes within the century-old Murugappa conglomerate, one of India’s oldest industrial groups with interests spanning financial services, engineering, fertilisers and mobility.