Burmans to pay out shareholders, induct directors on Eveready board by July

On Thursday, the open offer in Eveready by Burman entities closed with the Burmans acquiring 14.3% shares. The total holding of the in the company now stands at 38.3%

The Burman Group will induct directors on the board of Eveready Industries India, the country’s largest dry cell battery maker, after paying out shareholders and transferring shares. The entire exercise is expected to be completed by July 5.

On Thursday, the open offer in Eveready by Burman entities closed with the Burmans acquiring 14.3 per cent shares. The total holding of the Burman Group in the company now stands at 38.3 per cent.

On the next steps in Eveready, Mohit Burman, who has been spearheading the family’s interest in the company said, “Now that the open offer has closed, we will look to on-board our directors post the pay-out to the investors and transfer of shares. This exercise is expected to be completed by the July 5.”

The Burman Group, in February, while proposing the open offer in Eveready had written to the Board for adequate representation through appointing three non-executive directors.

Asked about the appointments, Burman said that the names of nominee directors would be disclosed close to the time and will be intimated to the company first. “We would be appointing the Chairman,” he said.

It may be mentioned that key positions in the company prior to the open offer by Burmans were held by members of the Khaitan family, promoters of Eveready.

Aditya Khaitan, younger son of late Brij Mohan Khaitan, was the non-executive chairman. Amritanshu Khaitan, son of Deepak Khaitan and grandson of Brij Mohan Khaitan, was the managing director. However, both stepped down from the board within days of the announcement of open offer by the Burman Group.

With the completion of the open offer, the Burmans would become promoters of Eveready. “We would be classified as promoters automatically in the next shareholder filing, post-July,” said Burman.

That would be about two years after the Burmans became the largest shareholder in Eveready. The Burmans had been buying into the company since 2019 and became the largest shareholders in July 2020. However, till they announced the intent to take control earlier this year, Eveready was but a financial investment for the Burmans.

On the vision for Eveready, Burman said, “We would want the company to concentrate on its core businesses of batteries, flashlights and lighting in the short term and look at one or two new categories in the medium to long term.”

“We would like to see revenue growth over time, as this is something the company has not managed over the past few years,” he added.

The company’s latest annual report also mentioned that growth in the past has been negligible. It said Eveready was working to chart out a strategy for growth and also improve existing operational areas.

However, even as the top line remained flat during the past few years, Eveready’s market share in the core segments continued to be robust, at more than 50 per cent in the dry cell battery segment and 70 per cent in the organised flash light market.

Timeline

July 2020: Burmans become largest shareholder in Eveready with 19.84 per cent stake

February 2022: Burmans propose open offer to acquire control

June 2022: Burmans acquire 14.3 per cent in open offer, taking total holding to 38.3 per cent