Gautam Singhania-Nawaz Modi dispute: Raymond shares fall for 12th straight day

In the past 12 trading sessions, Raymond's share price has declined 20 per cent. This marks the longest losing streak of the company on record.

Shares of Raymond Group have fallen for the 12th straight day as the ongoing divorce settlement dispute between chairman and managing director Gautam Singhania and his estranged wife Nawaz Modi seems to be heading towards a long-drawn legal battle.

Raymond Group shares fell over 2 per cent to trade at Rs 1,509.70 apiece at 12:35 pm. Shares of the group are down 10.6 per cent in the past five trading sessions, and over 14 per cent in a month. In the past 12 trading sessions, the stock has declined 20 per cent. This marks the longest losing streak of the company on record.

With this, the market capitalisation of Raymond risks falling below Rs 10,000 crore mark. It may be noted that Raymond’s market capitalisation has fallen Rs 2,500 crore in just 12 sessions, indicating that the ongoing dispute between Gautam Singhania and Nawaz Modi have spooked shareholders of the company.

Several proxy advisory firm experts have suggested that shareholders of Raymond could be staring at losses if the settlement battle between Singhania and Modi goes to court.

While Gautam Singhania recently wrote to the company’s board and employees to convey that business is usual at Raymond despite his personal challenges, allegations levelled by his estranged wife, who is also a non-executive board member, has raised concerns about how their separation will impact Raymond’s market value and assets.

Proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) has called upon independent directors of Raymond to launch an investigation into allegations of assault against CMD Gautam Singhania.

Nawaz Modi, Singhania's estranged wife, detailed the alleged assault incidents in a recent interview with India Today TV. IiAS has also recommended the consideration of appointing an interim CEO.

"Despite such serious and heinous accusations by one board member against another, you have been silent. Investors are worried, which is reflected in the significant erosion in stock price over the past few days.Your silence can be misconstrued -- surely you don't want stakeholders thinking that these accusations are to be tolerated," the proxy advisory firm said in its open letter to Raymond’s independent directors.

Meanwhile, Gautam Singhania has chosen to refrain from commenting on the matter. In an internal email to employees and board members, he said that the ongoing challenges in his personal life have not had any impact on Raymond’s operations.

"As the media is ripe with news about matters pertaining to my personal life, I am writing to you to say that I have chosen not to comment on the same as maintaining the dignity of my family is paramount to me," he wrote.

Published By:
Koustav Das
Published On:
Nov 30, 2023