Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Gopikishan Piramal is known for his business decisions. As a successful businessman, Ajay Piramal has taken his group to new heights in the last 4 decades.
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The group has business in more than 30 countries. According to Forbes, Ajay Piramal's net worth is more than Rs 30 thousand crores. He is also called Merger King.
Piramal Pharma Solutions has been honored in the city of Grangemouth, Scotland on 12th November. This award has been given for Piramal's contribution in establishing the National Scottish Patient Awareness Council (SPAC).
Today in Mega Empire the story of Piramal Group and its Chairman Ajay Piramal.
Ajay Piramal's wife Dr. Swati Piramal is the vice chairman of the company. Ajay and Swati were married in 1976.
Ajay Piramal is a close friend of Mukesh Ambani. His son Anand is married to Mukesh Ambani's daughter Isha. Piramal Group's business is mainly spread in the fields of pharmaceutical, healthcare analytics, real estate, financial services and glass packaging.
Ajay Piramal's wife Dr. Swati is the vice chairman of the group. Daughter Nandini and son Anand are executive directors. Ajay Piramal's elder brother Dilip is the owner of leading luggage maker VIP.
In the year 2018, Ajay Piramal received the IAA Business Leader of the Year award. At that time he had said that he had learned a lot from Bhagwat Geeta. Lord Krishna gives them courage.
I adopt the teachings of Bhagwat Geeta, both my wife and I took help of Geeta throughout our journey. One thing I like the most is, just focus on the action, thinking about the result will affect the work and the result will not be good. Bhagavad Gita is not only psychological but also practical.
Ajay Piramal is close friend of Mukesh Ambani. In the picture, Ajay Piramal is accompanied by his wife Swati Piramal, Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani, daughter-in-law Isha and son Anand.
The family belongs to Rajasthan
The Piramal family belongs to Makhar village of Shekhawati, Rajasthan. Ajay's grandfather Seth Piramal Chaturbhuj Macharia had built the Piramal Gate in Shekhawati in 1928 to welcome Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II of Jaipur. Pleased with Seth's welcome, the Maharaja of Jaipur also honored him.
Seth Piramal Chaturbhuj Macharia's fame was such that his descendants adopted his name Piramal as their surname. In 1928 itself, he built a palatial mansion in Bangar, Rajasthan, which is today a five star hotel of the Piramal family.
Now let's come to the beginning of the company
In 1920, Seth Piramal Chaturbhuj Macharia, grandfather of Piramal Group Chairman Ajay Piramal, came to Mumbai from Bagar in Rajasthan with 50 rupees. During that time Mumbai was transforming into a business hub. He started cotton business. Along with this he also traded in silk, silver, commodities and opium.
In 1935, Seth Macharia bought the cotton mill from businessman Gokuldas. At that time this mill was the oldest and first registered cotton mill in the country.
This picture is of Ajay and Swati's wedding anniversary.
Ajay's father took command
After the death of Seth Piramal Chaturbhuj Macharia in 1958, the responsibility of the business fell on Ajay's father Gopikishan. In 1962, Gopikishan set up a modern spinning unit worth Rs 1 crore. During this time he also bought another cotton mill.
In the 1970s, the son changed his surname from Macharia to Piramal in honor of the company's founder and grandfather. From this day Ajay's father changed from Gopikishan Makharia to Gopikishan Piramal. This was the time when Ajay started helping in his father's business. Taking the business forward, Gopikishan first bought VIP Industries and then Mirinda Tools Company.
Ajay was born on 3 August 1955. In 1977, he did MBA from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute. In 1979, his father Gopikishan Piramal died in New York. Just about a year later, elder brother Dilip divided the family business, and parted ways with bag manufacturing company VIP Industries.
Ajay got a textile factory. A brother, Ashok Piramal, also died of cancer in 1982. After this, Ajay had to take charge of his three children and steel business Mirinda Tools.
Ajay Piramal had said in an interview….
Considering the circumstances at home, I got leadership, it was not my choice. I was just learning to be like my father. Nothing was going well at that time, but I kept the faith.
Ajay Piramal, wife Swati Piramal, son Anand and daughter Nandini.
Started the process of buying companies
Ajay Piramal is also known for buying and selling companies. They are also known for merging companies with each other. Ajay Piramal purchased Gujarat Glass Limited Company in 1984. This year he decided to leave the textile business and enter the pharma business.
Bought Australian MNC Nicholas Laboratories Company for Rs 6 crore in 1988. Gujarat Glass was merged into Nicolas in 1990. In 1991, a plant was set up in Pithampur Industrial Area of Madhya Pradesh. In 1993, a joint venture agreement was signed with American company Allergan. By this time Ajay had become an expert in mergers and joint ventures of companies.
In 1994, an agreement was signed with French company Setelec for dental care products. In 1995, Sumitra Pharma Company of Hyderabad was merged with Nicholas Piramal India. In 1996, bought the Indian unit of German company Boehringer Mannheim. In 2000, the India unit of French company Rhone Poulenc was bought for Rs 236 crore.
Piramal Life Sciences Limited was formed in 2001. Bought ICI Pharma in 2002. Acquired Sarabhai Piramal and Global Bulk Drugs in 2003. In 2005 it bought a share of the American firm The Glass Group. Acquired UK's Pfizer's Morpeth in 2006.
Sold profitable pharma company
In 2010, Ajay Piramal sold the pharmaceutical company Nicholas Piramal to the famous American company Abbott for Rs 17500 crore. At that time this company was running in profit. This was the second most expensive deal in the Indian pharma industry at that time.
According to experts, in this deal Ajay got 9 times more price than the valuation at that time. This was 30 times the company's profit. This created panic in the entire market. Ajay invested the money from this deal in real estate and telecom sectors. This resulted in a profit of $1.6 billion.
Earned huge profits from loss making Vodafone
Before investing in anything, we look at its future. We knew about Vodafone that it is not a long term investment. Due to this its shares were sold.
Ajay Piramal has been fond of horse riding since childhood. In the picture, Ajay is accompanied by his grandson Krishna. In his childhood, Ajay was gifted a horse by his father.
Ajay had fallen from a horse in childhood
According to a report in Outlook Business, Ajay once fell from a horse while riding in his childhood. He lost his memory in this accident. According to the report, Ajay had told that however his memory of the accident came back the next day.
According to the report, Ajay Parimal had told that only the father was calm in that restless night. Mother was heartbroken. The doctor was also worried, but he maintained his patience. I came to know this when I woke up the next day feeling better. Dad was always like this, he used to handle both personal and professional problems in his own way.
Ajay Piramal had told in an interview that one of the best moments of his early life was horse riding. Mother used to take me to horse riding club. I became so fond of horse riding that I started following my father and asking him for a horse. He was worried that I would start racing and gambling at a young age. Years later he gifted me a horse.
The Piramal family had family ties with Ratan Tata, former chairman of the Tata Group. Anand Piramal, son of Ajay Piramal and son-in-law of Mukesh Ambani, with Ratan Tata.
Son Anand started many start-ups as soon as he joined the company.
In 2005, son Anand joined Piramal Life Science Limited as a director. Earlier, Anand was looking after his startup Piramal e Swasthya. In 2006, S&P listed Piramal Healthcare as a global leader.
In 2008, Nicolas Piramal India Company was renamed Piramal Healthcare Limited. In 2009, it acquired the business of US firm Minard International Inc for Rs 188 crore. By 2009, Piramal Group had reached a revenue of $1 billion. By this time the company had become the 5th largest pharma company in India. In 2010, the company also entered real estate business.
Son Anand opened his own Piramal Realty company. In 2012, Piramal Healthcare was renamed Piramal Enterprises.
Bought 20% stake in Shriram Capital in 2014 for Rs 2014 crore. Also bought 9.99% stake in Shriram City Union Finance Limited. In 2017, Anand became the non-executive director of Piramal Enterprises and executive director of Piramal Group. He has started start-ups like Piramal e-Health, 'Piramal Realty'.
Ajay Piramal's wife Dr. Swati Piramal has been active in healthcare innovation. He has done a lot of social work in the field of health and education through Piramal Foundation. For this, he was honored with Padma Shri by President Pratibha Patil in 2012.
called Warren Buffett of India
Due to his strategy of investing money in the right place at the right time, Ajay Piramal is compared to the world's most famous investor Warren Buffett. He bought many pharmaceutical companies when big multinationals were selling them cheaply in the 1980s. He sold them when they were expected to yield the highest profits.
Who is Warren Buffett?
American business tycoon Warren Buffett is considered the world's greatest investor. Shares of his company Berkshire Hathaway are the most expensive in the world. Buffett has invested in many companies, which have since become multi-billion dollar corporations. However, Buffett has also made many such investments in which he has suffered huge losses.
Research-Anmol Sharma
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Graphics Source: NavJivanIndia | VaskarAssets | NavBharatTimes
