Hikal shareholders to vote on Sameer Hiremath’s elevation amid family ownership dispute

Weeks after the Tata Sons boardroom dispute put questions of shareholder power, board authority and succession back in focus, another family-linked corporate contest is approaching a key vote.

Shareholders of Hikal Ltd will vote on Wednesday, September 23, on the appointment of Sameer Hiremath as chairman and managing director for a five-year term beginning October 1. What might otherwise have been a routine succession exercise has become a closely watched governance vote. Hikal remains caught in a decades-old ownership dispute between the Hiremath and Kalyani families, while proxy advisers have taken opposing positions on Hiremath’s elevation.

InGovern has recommended that shareholders oppose the appointment, citing concerns over combining the chairman and managing director roles under a promoter-family executive and the level of disclosure around remuneration. Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS) and Stakeholders Empowerment Services (SES), however, have recommended support, citing Hiremath’s nearly three decades at Hikal and the need for leadership continuity as founder and executive chairman Jai Hiremath steps down.

Hikal is a contract development and manufacturing company with businesses spanning pharmaceuticals and crop protection, supplying products and services to global customers.

Near-equal stakes sharpen the vote

The Hiremath family holds about 34.84% of Hikal, while Kalyani Investment Co. Ltd and BF Investment Ltd together hold about 34.01%.

Public and institutional shareholders account for the remaining roughly 31%. With the two promoter sides almost evenly matched, voting patterns among the remaining shareholders could have a significant bearing on the outcome. The two families have been locked in a long-running dispute over Hikal’s ownership.

Sugandha Hiremath, sister of Bharat Forge Chairman Babasaheb ‘Baba’ Kalyani, and her husband Jai Hiremath have argued in court that a family arrangement dating back to the 1990s required Hikal shares held by Kalyani-controlled entities to eventually be transferred to the Hiremath side. The Kalyani side contests that claim.

There is no public indication yet of how the Kalyani-controlled entities intend to vote on Sameer Hiremath’s appointment. YourStory reached out to Hikal and the Kalyani side for comments. Neither had responded at the time of publication.

The leadership transition also comes after a difficult financial year. Hikal swung to a consolidated net loss of Rs 49 crore in FY26 from a profit of Rs 91 crore a year earlier, with exceptional items also weighing on the bottom line. The June quarter showed signs of improvement, with revenue rising year-on-year and the quarterly net loss narrowing to Rs 7.4 crore from Rs 22.4 crore.

More than a succession vote

The Hikal situation is structurally different from Tata Sons. Tata Sons is an unlisted holding company with its own governance framework, while Hikal is a listed company where the appointment is being put directly to shareholders. But both episodes underline how succession can become complicated when ownership, board authority and executive control sit across different centres of influence. Hikal’s AGM will be held virtually at 11:30 AM on September 23.

The vote will not resolve the Hiremath-Kalyani ownership dispute, but with the two sides holding almost identical stakes, it will provide a visible test of how shareholder power is exercised at Hikal as leadership passes from one generation to the next.