Succession Battle Erupts After Death of Indian Billionaire at British Automotive Giant

The sudden death of an Indian billionaire has sparked a bitter succession battle at one of Britain's largest car companies. Sunjay Kapur, 53, died of a heart attack on June 12 while playing polo in Surrey. He reportedly swallowed a bee, an incident that has since become a focal point in the ongoing dispute over the future of the Sona Comstar business empire.

A Legacy of Power and Wealth

Kapur was the heir to Sona Comstar, a £2.7 billion ($6.1 billion) automotive component business founded by his father. The tycoon was a prominent figure in New Delhi’s elite social circle and was reportedly a close friend of the Prince of Wales. He married three times: first to designer Nandita Mahani, then to Bollywood star Karisma Kapoor, and finally to former model Priya Sachdev in 2017.

A Fractured Family and a Company in Turmoil

Following his death in June, Sona Comstar has become the center of a bitter succession battle, with a power struggle emerging between Rani Kapur, Sunjay’s mother, and the company’s board of directors. On July 24, Rani Kapur wrote a letter to the board alleging that her son’s death occurred under 'highly suspicious and unexplained circumstances.' This came just a month after the board had unanimously appointed a new chairman on June 23.

Rani Kapur accused the company’s leadership of exploiting the family’s mourning to 'wrest control and usurp the family legacy.' She claimed she had been 'forced to sign documents behind locked doors' while under emotional distress. The letter, also sent to India’s market regulator, stated that she had lost access to her bank accounts and had not authorized any appointments to represent the Kapur family.

Kapur alleged that her late husband—Sunjay’s father, who died in 2015—had made her the sole beneficiary of his estate and also a majority shareholder of the Sona Group. However, Sona Comstar refuted these claims in a regulatory filing, stating that Rani Kapur had not been a shareholder since at least 2019, contradicting her assertion of being the majority owner of the Sona Group via her late husband’s will.

Support from the Widower and the Board

The company appears to have the support of Priya Sachdev, Sunjay’s widow. The board moved to appoint her as a non-executive director and approved the appointment at the company’s annual meeting on July 25, despite Rani Kapur’s objections and request to delay the meeting.

Last week, Sachdev’s office shared the Surrey coroner’s report, confirming that her husband had died of natural causes. The report specified that he died from ventricular hypertrophy and ischaemic heart disease, and the coroner closed its investigation. This came after Rani Kapur wrote to the United Kingdom authorities for an investigation into the circumstances of her son’s death.

A Family Divided and a Public Scrutiny

The dispute has also drawn in Mandhira Kapur, Sunjay’s estranged sister, who had been separated from her brother for four years. In an Instagram post, she shared a photo with her brother and mother, vowing to 'protect what you would have wanted, and what Dad dreamed.'

Rani Kapur claims there is a conspiracy at play aimed at taking control of the business away from the founding Kapur family. According to senior advocate Vaibhav Gaggar, who represents Rani Kapur, 'It quite clearly reinforces what she’s been saying, that her entire legacy is being usurped and no one is willing to look into the cause of death.' Gaggar added, 'It may all be very well interlinked and she has quite unequivocally said there is a conspiracy behind her son’s death.'

Broader Context: Family-Owned Businesses and Succession Planning

The Sona Comstar case highlights a broader issue in India, where about 90% of listed companies are family-controlled, yet only 63% have a formal succession plan in place, according to a PwC survey. With 72% of Sona Comstar’s shares held by the public and 28% by its corporate promoter, Aureus Investments Private Limited, the battle over control is not only a family matter but also a corporate one with implications for the future of the company and its stakeholders.

As the legal and corporate battles continue, the story of Sunjay Kapur’s untimely death and the ensuing succession struggle serves as a cautionary tale of the complexities that can arise when family legacies collide with corporate governance.