Factbox: India's Wadia Group whose Go First is in trouble

Bombay Burmah Trading,

04/05/2023 10:59

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - India's Wadia Group has
survived British colonial rule and fierce business rivalries to
create an empire that spans industries, from aviation and real
estate to retail, healthcare, engineering and chemicals.
    Here are some details about the Mumbai-based conglomerate,
whose airline sought bankruptcy protection this week.
    
    - Founded in 1736 by Loeji Nusserwanjee Wadia, the group
began as a marine construction company that built ships for the
British empire, according to its website. Like the Tata
conglomerate, Wadia is controlled by a Parsi family.
    - Chairman Nusli N. Wadia is the grandson of Pakistan's
founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Wadia's mother was the only child
of Jinnah.
    - The group has been part of some key moments in history,
building a ship named the "Minden" on which the American
National Anthem was composed. The group also built the "HMS
Cornwallis" on which the Treaty of Nanking, which ceded Hong
Kong to England, was signed.
    - Between 1863 and 1954, the group created four listed
companies that now have a combined market value of nearly $15
billion - food brand Britannia Industries  BRIT.NS , bedding and
garments maker Bombay Dyeing  BDYN.NS , hydrogen peroxide maker
National Peroxide Ltd  NTPR.BO , and Bombay Burmah Trading Corp
Ltd  BBRM.NS , which has a portfolio that includes plantation
and healthcare products.
    - The group ventured into the aviation business in 2005 when
Go Airlines (India) Ltd, recently rebranded as Go First, was
launched. The group's website states the airline flew 83.8
million passengers between 2010 and 2020.
    - Go First, India's third-largest airline filed for
bankruptcy protection blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines
for the grounding of about half its fleet. COVID-19 also damaged
its business.
    - India's capital markets regulator in October barred Bombay
Dyeing from the securities markets for two years after finding
the firm, a sister company and several executives had
misrepresented financial statements. The ban also applied to
Nusli N. Wadia and his sons, Ness and Jehangir. The Wadia Group
said all its transactions had been conducted in compliance with
the law.

 (Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
 ((Sakshi.Dayal@thomsonreuters.com;))