Rough Edges

On June 18, when the two feuding Ambani scions announced a truce, it was believed peace would reign henceforth. We were wrong. The fact that tensions still exist between Mukesh and Anil was apparent last week, when RIL—now controlled by Mukesh—held its AGM on August 3. Mukesh did thank Anil for his contribution to RIL and invited his younger brother on the dais. Anil slipped in a comment about 'corporate governance'—a phrase with which he had brow-beaten his elder brother for months. When Anil finished, Mukesh didn't clap while the crowd cheered Anil. Later that evening, Anil stole the limelight by announcing the details of the Reliance demerger which will allow the two brothers to go their separate ways. This was despite Mukesh telling RIL shareholders that the modalities had to be worked out by valuation and legal experts and the RIL board had only given an in-principle clearance. The Mukesh camp was incensed. They felt the details had to be decided by RIL, not Anil. Does this imply there are still simmering issues between the Ambanis that could explode publicly in the near future?