Amid a public family spat between Raymond Group’s Chairman & Managing Director Gautam Hari Singhania and his estranged wife Nawaz Modi, Singhania has written to the company’s board and employees in an attempt to allay concerns of the impact of this on the company and its businesses.
In an internal email accessed by CNBC-TV18, Singhania reiterated that he has chosen not to comment to maintain his family’s dignity.
“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.
He added that its business as usual at Raymond despite it being a ‘difficult time’ for him and that he remains resolute as Chairman & Managing Director and is fully committed towards the smooth functioning of the company and its business.
Singhania, on November 13, announced a split from his wife Nawaz Modi, a popular fitness coach, on social media. However, soon after, videos emerged of Nawaz Modi being shut out of a conmpany’s Diwali party, and days after, she publicly accused Singhania of physically assaulting her and her daughter. She claimed that this incident lead her to being hospitalised.
Since the spat came out into the public, the stock price of Raymond also slumped from Rs 1,900 levels to under Rs 1,650 in two weeks, wiing off over Rs 1,500 crore from its market capitalisation. As per reports, Nawaz sought a family settlement that involved seeking 75 percent of Singhania’s networth for her daughters. However, in subsequent media interviews, Nawaz claimed that Singhania has called off the settlement.
Nawaz sits on the board of more than half a dozen companies, including the listed entity, Ramond. Some experts have pointed out that the board of the Raymond Group should initiate an independent investigation Should Initiate an Independent Investigation, also suggesting both Singhania and Nawaz should step aside from the board for the time being.
CNBC-TV18 wrote to Gautam Singhania last week seeking comments on the serious allegations made by Nawaz Modi, but is yet to hear back on the specific queries. However, he said in a media statement on November 22, he said “In the interest of my two beautifiul daughters, I would like to maintain my family’s dignity and I will refrain from offering any comment. Please respect my privacy.”
In his letter to employees on Monday, Singhania further assured employees and the Board tthat the company has grown exponentially, having its”best quarter in history”.
“Recently, we have almost doubled our engineering business by entering sunrise sectors of aerospace, defense, electric vehicle components through MPPL’s acquisition, and have also been awarded two marquee real estate projects in our focus market of Mumbai Metropolitan Region,” he wrote.
He signed off assuring them that he is “steadfast to create and deliver value to all our shareholders and ensure the interests of our employees, customers, and other stakeholders”.