Aditya Birla Nuvo shareholders approve merger with Grasim Industries

Kumar Mangalam Birla backed Aditya Birla Nuvo's shareholders approved plans for a merger with Grasim Industries Ltd that would create a firm with $9 billion in combined revenue.

About 83 percent of ABNL minority shareholder votes cast were in favour of a proposal to merge with affiliate Grasim, according to a statement from ABNL on Monday. 

Grasim’s minority shareholders already voted their consent to the merger plan, according to an 6 April statement. The transaction still needs approvals from the company law tribunal, markets regulator and exchanges.

The deal, an overhaul that also involves the spinoff of a financial services unit currently under ABNL, would help tighten the tycoon’s grip on a conglomerate with more than USD 40 billion in annual revenue.

The transaction would increase Birla family stakes in the new entity to 39 percent from the 31 percent it holds in Grasim, according to a company presentation. ABNL has stakes in companies ranging from a mobile-phone operator to a life insurer.