Vijay Sheth to stay on as Great Offshore MD

MUMBAI: The Sheth family seems to have smoked the proverbial peace pipe for the time being. The warring cousins, KM Sheth and his two sons Bharat Sheth and Ravi Sheth on one side, and Vijay Sheth on the other, have come to a truce at the board meeting of Great Offshore (GOL), the demerged entity of India’s largest private shipping company — Great Eastern Shipping Company (GE Shipping).

GOL on Wednesday informed BSE that its board has unanimously resolved to reappoint Vijay Sheth as managing director. On March 14, ET had reported that the second round of sibling rivalry at the Sheth family had reached another flash point and that Vijay may be stripped off his responsibilities as MD with a new joint managing director being appointed.

However, the KM Sheth faction, which holds a majority of 20% in GOL, has allowed Vijay to continue at the helm. The terms and conditions under which the reappointment was made are not clear. The earlier plan to appoint a professional as a joint MD is believed to have put on the backburner for the time being.

Even after repeated efforts by ET, the Sheth cousins refused to talk, or declined to return calls. “I have nothing further to add,” is what all Vijay Sheth had to say. He and his family own around 5% stake in GOL. The GOL board has declared an interim dividend Rs 8 (or 80%) per share.

On Wednesday, its share price dropped Rs 8 to Rs 572 on BSE. Last October, subsequent to the demerger of the offshore division of GE Shipping into a separate company, Vijay was appointed as managing director of GOL effective October 16, 2006, on the same remuneration and on the same terms and conditions on the basis of continuity in services without any hiatus. Vijay, who was joint managing director of GE Shipping, had simultaneously stepped from the board of the parent company.

Over the past few months, Vijay bought GOL shares through creeping acquisition, in his own account and through an investment company — Delta Housing. Vijay, along with his family members and own investment companies, hold around 5% stake in GOL, while Bharat and Ravi own around 20% stake.