FB Roundup: SP Hinduja, Grifols family, Carlos Slim
Tributes paid to SP Hinduja, the head of Britain's richest family
SP [Srichand Parmanand] Hinduja, the billionaire leader of the Hinduja Group conglomerate and head of Britain's richest family has died at the age of 87.
Described as a “visionary titan of industry and business”, the hugely successful businessman “passed away peacefully”, according to a family spokesperson.
“SP journeyed through life with deep humility and dignity, always seeking to bring people together in a common interest,” read the statement. “He touched countless lives on his path, and we are forever grateful for the time we cherished with him.
“Amongst other things, SP will be remembered for his great contributions in bringing India and its culture to the global stage through his work and philanthropic efforts.”
Hinduja was the chairman of the 100+-year-old Hinduja Group conglomerate, which has publicly listed interests in India across banking, chemicals, information technology and commercial vehicles.
He was thrust into the public eye in the 1990s when Labour MPs were accused of lobbying to help him get British citizenship. The scandal led to the resignation of Peter Mandelson, who at the time was serving as Northern Ireland secretary.
A father-of-three, Hinduja became the focus of a feud between relatives in recent years after being diagnosed with dementia. The family agreed a truce in a long-running feud over the future of their family’s global business empire following revelations that the battle “marginalised” the dementia care of its billionaire patriarch.
Srichand’s younger brother Gopi, 82, challenged the legitimacy of the power of attorney granted to Srichand’s wife Madhu and his daughters, Vinoo and Shanu, regarding the control of Hinduja Bank, an asset in Srichand’s sole name.
“The Hinduja family matter regarding the health and welfare of SP has already been resolved amicably between all parties and [this] judgment solely concerned whether those matters should remain private,” a spokesperson for the Hinduja family said in a statement.
“We have always lived and acted according to the instructions given to us by our father. These are in line with his values, which have been instilled in us since childhood,” said Shanu and Vinoo Hinduja in a statement following the judgement.
The family have topped the Sunday Times Rich List again in 2023 with a combined net worth of £35 billion.
Spain's Grifols ending family leadership as new CEO is named
Spanish multinational pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer Grifols is entering a new non-family-run phase of its 80+-year history with the appointment of current executive chairman Thomas Glanzmann (pictured left) to new chief executive officer.
The move marks an end to the founding family’s executive leadership following a period of turmoil. The Barcelona-based company, a producer of blood plasma-based products, was severely hit at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic due to plasma shortages. Struggling to recover since, the firm sought to cut its debt earlier this year by laying off 8.5% of its workforce with the goal of saving $441.7 million annually.
Glanzmann, who had served as the company’s board vice chairman since 2017, was appointed to Grifols’ chairman in February this year.
Two family members of the company (which was founded by hematologist and scientist Dr Josep A. Grífols Roig in 1940) will remain in roles within the company - Victor Grifols Deu as chief operating officer and board member, and Raimon Grifols as board member and new chief corporate officer.
Carlos Slim buys stake in Mexican oilfield
Mexican billionaire business magnate Carlos Slim has bought up a 49.9% share of Talos Energy’s Mexican subsidiary, giving his firm Grupo Carso access to the huge Zama offshore oilfield.
Once approved by Mexico’s Federal Economic Competition Commission (COFECE), the $124.75 million sale will give Grupo Carso a portion of Talos’ 17.4% stake of Zama.
According to OilPrice.com, “the investment from Slim’s conglomerate in Talos and the Zama oilfield comes as Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador is enacting reforms and business moves seen as unfriendly for private companies.”
A consortium of foreign oil companies led by Talos Energy discovered the Zama oil deposit in 2017, “at an estimated 670 million recoverable barrels of oil, the discovery was the largest oil find in Mexico by a private company in decades,” according to OilPrice.com.
The purchase by Grupo Carso – which is headed up by Carlos Slim and his family, who are currently number ten on the Forbes world’s richest people list – comes as Mexico’s state oil firm Pemex and partners submitted a development plan for the project that could see its oil production reach levels greater than 10% of Mexico’s current output.
