Kolkata: Anand Burman likely to be new chairman of Eveready

KOLKATA: Anand Burman looks all set to take over as the chairman of dry cell battery leader Eveready Industries in July. Burmans, too, will be classified as ‘promoters’. Anand was chairman of Dabur, the flagship company of the Burman family till July 2019. After him, cousin Amit Burman took over as the Dabur India chairman.
Three nominees of the Dabur family will be inducted in the board of Eveready.Sources close to the development said that Mohit Burman will also be inducted as the additional director on the board of the battery maker, which also has a strong presence in flashlights and appliances. The third nominee in the board would be Arjun Lamba, a close associate of Burman family for long. “Anand Burman is senior in the family so in all probability he will be the chairman of Eveready,” added sources.
Burmans now have 38.3% stake in Eveready following the open offer. Though Burmans are yet to disclose the names but Mohit said that now that the open offer has closed, it will look to on-board directors post the pay-out to investors and transfer of shares.
“This exercise is expected to be completed by the July 5 this year. We would be classified as Promoters automatically in the next shareholder filing, post July. The board seats will be taken post completion of offer and post the pay-out to investors. The names of our nominee directors will be disclosed closer to the time and will be intimated to the company first,” he added. The two representatives of Khaitan family — chairman Aditya Khaitan and MD Amritanshu Khaitan — resigned from their respective posts in March this year.
Five Burman family investment companies came out with an open offer earlier this year for an additional 26% stake in Eveready for Rs 605 crore. The offer price was Rs 320 per share. It had appointed JM Financial to manage the issue. The Delhi-based group has been acquiring shares of Eveready since 2020.
Burmans’ investment firms that came out with the offer include Puran Associates, VIC Enterprises, M B Finmart (Acquirer 3), Gyan Enterprises and Chowdry Associates.