56-400: Ashok Leyland Defence Systems is a Hinduja Group company involved in manufacturing military trucks such as the widely used Stallion troop carriers. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems was floated on 18 March 2008. Hinduja Group's flagship company Ashok Leyland holds 26 percent in the newly formed company. Ashok Leyland has been involved in the design, development and manufacture of vehicles for
112-429: A market inefficiency , which undervalues the true strength of these stocks. In her 1999 book No Logo , Naomi Klein provides several examples of mergers and acquisitions between media companies designed to create conglomerates to create synergy between them: A relatively new development, Internet conglomerates, such as Alphabet , Google's parent company belong to the modern media conglomerate group and play
168-553: A decision on their application for citizenship could be expected. On 25 January, Vaz became the focus of Opposition questions about the Hinduja affair and many parliamentary questions were tabled, demanding that he fully disclose his role. Vaz said via a Foreign Office spokesman that he would be "fully prepared" to answer questions put to him by Sir Anthony Hammond QC who had been asked by the Prime Minister to carry out an inquiry into
224-480: A disorienting and demoralizing experience for executives at acquired companies—those who were not immediately laid off found themselves at the mercy of the conglomerate's executives in some other distant city. Most conglomerates' headquarters were located on the West Coast or East Coast , while many of their acquisitions were located in the country's interior. Many interior cities were devastated by repeatedly losing
280-540: A focus in Asia.) In Japan, a different model of conglomerate, the keiretsu , evolved. Whereas the Western model of conglomerate consists of a single corporation with multiple subsidiaries controlled by that corporation, the companies in a keiretsu are linked by interlocking shareholdings and a central role of a bank. Mitsui , Mitsubishi , Sumitomo are some of Japan's best-known keiretsu, reaching from automobile manufacturing to
336-638: A global presence and a diversified portfolio of products and services. Conglomerates can be formed by merger and acquisitions , spin-offs , or joint ventures . Conglomerates are common in many countries and sectors, such as media , banking , energy , mining , manufacturing , retail , defense , and transportation . This type of organization aims to achieve economies of scale , market power, risk diversification , and financial synergy. However, they also face challenges such as complexity, bureaucracy , agency problems, and regulation . The popularity of conglomerates has varied over time and across regions. In
392-469: A lack of evidence and saying that documents central to the prosecution case were "useless and dubious" since their provenance could not be verified. Judge RS Sodhi said: "I must express my disapproval that 14 years of trial and ₹ 2.5 billion (US$ 30 million) of public money was spent on the case. It has caused huge economical, emotional, professional and personal loss to the Hindujas." In January 2001, it
448-441: A lawyer representing the family. It was also claimed that the family spent more on pets than they paid a servant. The Swiss court dismissed the human trafficking charges, but found them guilty of exploiting the staff; it sentenced Prakash Hinduja , wife Kamal, son Ajay and daughter-in-law Namrata to four and a half years of imprisonment. Conglomerate (company) A conglomerate ( / k ə ŋ ˈ ɡ l ɒ m ə r ə t / )
504-625: A small slice of many companies in a fund rather than owning shares in a conglomerate. Another example of a successful conglomerate is Warren Buffett 's Berkshire Hathaway , a holding company which used surplus capital from its insurance subsidiaries to invest in businesses across a variety of industries. The end of the First World War caused a brief economic crisis in Weimar Germany , permitting entrepreneurs to buy businesses at rock-bottom prices. The most successful, Hugo Stinnes , established
560-483: Is a medium duty defence vehicle with multiple logistical, tactical and special purpose applications. The Stallion 4x4 and Stallion 6x6 are operation across climatic zones such as Alpine, Subtropical, Tropical and Arid zones. The Stallion is used by the Indian Army across the varied climate and terrain of India from coastal operations to high altitude bases, from deserts to snow covered mountainous regions. The Stallion forms
616-402: Is a type of multi-industry company that consists of several different and unrelated business entities that operate in various industries. A conglomerate usually has a parent company that owns and controls many subsidiaries , which are legally independent but financially and strategically dependent on the parent company. Conglomerates are often large and multinational corporations that have
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#1732868745567672-471: Is clear to me there has been deliberate collusion over many months between Mr Vaz and his wife to conceal this fact and to prevent me from obtaining accurate information about his possible financial relationship with the Hinduja family". In February 2005 Ashok Leyland , the flagship company of Hinduja Group, announced an agreement to supply 100 army vehicles to the Sudanese Defence Ministry. It
728-472: Is currently China's largest civilian-run conglomerate by revenue. In South Korea , the chaebol is a type of conglomerate owned and operated by a family. A chaebol is also inheritable, as most of the current presidents of chaebols succeeded their fathers or grandfathers. Some of the largest and most well-known Korean chaebols are Samsung , LG , Hyundai Kia and SK . In India, family-owned enterprises became some of Asia's largest conglomerates, such as
784-468: Is rated at 10 tonnes while the 8x8 is rated at 12 tonnes. Rhino is a medium to heavy duty defence vehicle with logistical and tactical applications. Fox is a light specialist defence vehicle with logistical and tactical applications. Special Purpose Vehicles for military applications such as armoured bus transport, fire appliance and mine protected vehicles. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS) provides an end-to-end logistical defence solution with
840-555: The Aditya Birla Group , Tata Group , Emami , Kirloskar Group , Larsen & Toubro , Mahindra Group , Bajaj Group , ITC Limited , Essar Group , Reliance Industries , Adani Group and the Bharti Enterprises . In Brazil the most important conglomerates are J&F Investimentos , Odebrecht , Itaúsa , Camargo Corrêa , Votorantim Group , Andrade Gutierrez , and Queiroz Galvão. In New Zealand, Fletcher Challenge
896-548: The Hinduja brothers ' applications for British citizenship while a backbench MP. Tony Blair also admitted that Vaz had "made representations" on behalf of other Asians. On 11 June 2001 Vaz was dismissed from his post as Europe Minister, to be replaced by Peter Hain . The Prime Minister's office said that Vaz had written to Tony Blair stating he wished to stand down for health reasons. In December 2001, Elizabeth Filkin cleared Vaz of failing to register payments to his wife's law firm by
952-641: The United States , conglomerates became popular in the 1960s as a form of economic bubble driven by low interest rates and leveraged buyouts. However, many of them collapsed or were broken up in the 1980s due to poor performance, accounting scandals, and antitrust regulation. In contrast, conglomerates have remained prevalent in Asia, especially in China , Japan , South Korea , and India . In mainland China , many state-affiliated enterprises have gone through high value mergers and acquisitions , resulting in some of
1008-572: The highest value business transactions of all time. These conglomerates have strong ties with the government and preferential policies and access to capital. During the 1960s, the United States was caught up in a "conglomerate fad " which turned out to be a form of an economic bubble . Due to a combination of low interest rates and a repeating bear-bull market , conglomerates were able to buy smaller companies in leveraged buyouts (sometimes at temporarily deflated values). Famous examples from
1064-440: The 1960s include Gulf and Western Industries , Ling-Temco-Vought , ITT Corporation , Litton Industries , Textron , and Teledyne . The trick was to look for acquisition targets with solid earnings and much lower price–earnings ratios than the acquirer. The conglomerate would make a tender offer to the target's shareholders at a princely premium to the target's current stock price. Upon obtaining shareholder approval,
1120-618: The 1980s, General Electric also moved into financing and financial services , which in 2005 accounted for about 45% of the company's net earnings. GE formerly owned a minority interest in NBCUniversal , which owns the NBC television network and several other cable networks . United Technologies was also a successful conglomerate until it was dismantled in the late 2010s. With the spread of mutual funds (especially index funds since 1976), investors could more easily obtain diversification by owning
1176-842: The Business Leader of the Year Award. Ashok Hinduja was felicitated with the ABLF Global Asian Award at the UAE Government-backed Asian Business Leadership Forum in 2017. OneOTT Intertainment Limited (OIL), the Media Vertical arm of Hinduja Group, was awarded the 2019 Innovation Leaders award by Telecomlead.com. In May 2023, lead Hinduja chair Srichand Hinduja died in London at the age of 87. Srichand, Gopichand and Prakash Hinduja were connected with
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#17328687455671232-513: The Hinduja Foundation had given the sum of £1,200 to Mapesbury Communications, a company run by his wife, in return for helping to organise a Hinduja-sponsored reception at the House of Commons. Vaz had previously denied receiving money from the Hindujas, but insisted that he made no personal gain from the transaction in question. In June 2001, Vaz admitted that he had made representations during
1288-731: The Hinduja brothers was estimated to be US$ 32 billion in 2022, making them the wealthiest people in the United Kingdom. In May 2023, company patriarch Srichand Hinduja died. In October 2024, the Hinduja family was ranked 11th on the Forbes list of India’s 100 richest tycoons, with a net worth of $ 22 billion. The company was founded in 1914 by Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja , who was from a Sindhi family based in India. Initially operating in Shikarpur (in modern-day Pakistan ) and Bombay , India, he set up
1344-400: The Hinduja brothers, but said that he had colluded with his wife to conceal the payments. Filkin's report said that the payments had been given to his wife for legal advice on immigration issues and concluded that Vaz had gained no direct personal benefit, and that Commons rules did not require him to disclose payments made to his wife. She did, however, criticise him for his secrecy, saying, "It
1400-1042: The Indian Army. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd. (ALDS) shares this heritage and association with global defence markets. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd. (ALDS) also leverages Ashok Leyland's in-house R&D base, its collaboration with global technology leaders and Ashok Leyland's state-of-the-art plants in India. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd. (ALDS) also works with associate companies (Hinduja Group Companies) AVIA (Prague, Czech Republic), Optare (Leeds, UK), Defiance (Detroit, USA), Hinduja Foundries (Chennai, India) and AlbonAir (Dortmund, Germany) to leverage their capabilities. They have logistical vehicles with military payloads ranging from 1.5 to 16 tonnes for Light Specialty Vehicles (LSV), Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV), General Services Role, Light Recovery Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles, Fire Fighting Trucks, Field Artillery Tractors and other special applications. It also has tactical vehicles designed for combat and offensive roles such as Multi-Barrel Rocket Launchers (MBRLs). The Stallion
1456-486: The Indian armed forces. Ashok Leyland is ranked among the world's largest producers of medium duty defence vehicles today. Ashok Leyland's defence vehicles are serving armed forces in ground support roles from troop carriers to special application logistical and tactical vehicles. Its diesel engines have been used to power vehicles, boats, cranes, ground starter aggregates, compressors and generators. Ashok Leyland has supported
1512-625: The Stallion 4x4 and Stallion 6x6. The End-to-End Defence Vehicle Solutions include modular packages such as Fleet Management System, vehicle maintenance kits, driver training packages, electronic publications along with global warehouse support. Hinduja Group's floated Ashok Leyland Defence Systems Ltd (ALDS) (floated on 18 March 2008), India and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) GmbH and Co KG, Germany, jointly develop advanced defence systems for Indian defence establishment as well as other defence forces worldwide. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between
1568-598: The United States, some of the examples are The Walt Disney Company , Warner Bros. Discovery and The Trump Organization (see below). In Canada, one of the examples is Hudson's Bay Company . Another such conglomerate is J.D. Irving, Limited , which controls a large portion of the economic activities as well as media in the Province of New Brunswick . Some cite the decreased cost of conglomerate stock (a phenomenon known as conglomerate discount ) as evidential of these disadvantages, while other traders believe this tendency to be
1624-475: The affair. Vaz said that he had known the Hinduja brothers for some time; he had been present when the charitable Hinduja Foundation was set up in 1993, and had also delivered a speech in 1998 when the brothers invited Tony and Cherie Blair to a Diwali celebration. On 26 January 2001, Prime Minister Tony Blair was accused of prejudicing the independent inquiry into the Hinduja passport affair, after he declared that Keith Vaz had not done "anything wrong". On
1680-449: The companies, includes scope in development of artillery systems, combat systems, armoured wheeled vehicles, recovery vehicles, bridge laying systems and other similar products. Dr V. Sumantran, Chairman, Ashok Leyland Defence Systems, said the partnership brings together the technological bandwidth of KMW and Ashok Leyland's innovations aimed at cost advantage and expands ALDS' product opportunities. Mr Frank Haun, CEO and President, KMW, said
1736-616: The company's first international operation in Iran in 1919. The headquarters of the group remained in Iran until 1979, when the Islamic Revolution forced it to move to Europe . Group Chairman Srichand Hinduja and his brother Gopichand , also Co-Chairman, moved to London in 1979 to develop the export business; the third brother Prakash manages the group's operations in Geneva , Switzerland while
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1792-453: The conclusion that neither Mandelson nor anyone else had acted improperly. In January 2001, immigration minister Barbara Roche revealed in a written Commons reply that Keith Vaz , Member of Parliament for Leicester East and at the time a Foreign Office minister, and other MPs, had also contacted the Home Office about the Hinduja brothers, saying that Vaz had made inquiries about when
1848-455: The conglomerate usually settled the transaction in something other than cash, like debentures , bonds , warrants or convertible debentures (issuing the latter two would effectively dilute its shareholders down the road, but many shareholders at the time were not thinking that far ahead). The conglomerate would then add the target's earnings to its earnings, thereby increasing the conglomerate's overall earnings per share . In finance jargon,
1904-462: The end came in January 1968, when Litton shocked Wall Street by announcing a quarterly profit of only 21 cents per share, versus 63 cents for the previous year's quarter. This was "just a decline in earnings of about 19 percent", not an actual loss or a corporate scandal, and "yet the stock was crushed, plummeting from $ 90 to $ 53". It would take two more years before it was clear that the conglomerate fad
1960-751: The examples are Adamjee Group , Dawood Hercules , House of Habib , Lakson Group and Nishat Group . In the Philippines , the largest conglomerate of the country is the Ayala Corporation which focuses on malls , bank , real estate development , and telecommunications . The other big conglomerates in the Philippines included JG Summit Holdings , Lopez Holdings Corporation , ABS-CBN Corporation , GMA Network, Inc. , MediaQuest Holdings , TV5 Network, Inc. , SM Investments Corporation , Metro Pacific Investments Corporation , and San Miguel Corporation . In
2016-714: The headquarters of corporations to mergers, in which independent ventures were reduced to subsidiaries of conglomerates based in New York or Los Angeles. Pittsburgh, for example, lost about a dozen. The terror instilled by the mere prospect of such harsh consequences for executives and their home cities meant that fending off takeovers, real or imagined, was a constant distraction for executives at all corporations seen as choice acquisition targets during this era. The chain reaction of rapid growth through acquisitions could not last forever. When interest rates rose to offset rising inflation, conglomerate profits began to fall. The beginning of
2072-452: The hospitality. In March, Vaz was ordered to fully co-operate with a new inquiry launched into his financial affairs by Elizabeth Filkin , who was Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards at the time. Foreign Secretary Robin Cook , Vaz's superior, also urged him to fully answer allegations about his links with the Hinduja brothers. Mr Vaz met Mrs Filkin on 20 March to discuss a complaint that
2128-797: The investigation into the Bofors scandal , in which Swedish firm Bofors was alleged to have paid illegal bribes to government officials and politicians in connection with the US$ 1.3 billion sale of 400 howitzers to the Indian Government in 1986. The three brothers were charged by the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation in October 2000, but in 2005 the High Court in Delhi threw out all charges against them, citing
2184-528: The logistical backbone of the Indian Armed Forces with over 60,000 Stallions used by the Indian Army, all manufactured at the Vehicle Factory Jabalpur . The Stallion is built for use in harsh environments and for easy maintenance in regions where supporting infrastructure may be missing. The Sri Lanka Army also uses Stallions. The Super Stallion is an uprated version of the Stallion. The 6x6
2240-437: The modernization of the Indian Army by developing a host of logistical vehicles with military payloads ranging from 1.5 to 16 tonnes for Light Specialty Vehicles (LSV), Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV), General Services Role, Light Recovery Vehicles, High Mobility Vehicles, Fire Fighting Trucks, Field Artillery Tractors and other special applications. Ashok Leyland Defence has a rich heritage of association with defence forces around
2296-503: The most powerful private economic conglomerate in 1920s Europe – Stinnes Enterprises – which embraced sectors as diverse as manufacturing, mining, shipbuilding, hotels, newspapers, and other enterprises. The best-known British conglomerate was Hanson plc . It followed a rather different timescale than the U.S. examples mentioned above, as it was founded in 1964 and ceased to be a conglomerate when it split itself into four separate listed companies between 1995 and 1997. In Hong Kong, some of
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2352-652: The new businesses they had recently purchased, and by the mid-1970s most conglomerates had been reduced to shells. The conglomerate fad was subsequently replaced by newer ideas like focusing on a company's core competency and unlocking shareholder value (which often translate into spin-offs ). In other cases, conglomerates are formed for genuine interests of diversification rather than manipulation of paper return on investment. Companies with this orientation would only make acquisitions or start new branches in other sectors when they believed this would increase profitability or stability by sharing risks. Flush with cash during
2408-544: The partnership will support KMW's plans to internationalise its business. Ashok Leyland Defence Systems (ALDS) has signed up with the Paramount Group, South Africa for the development and manufacture of Mine Protected Vehicles in India. Initially basic components manufactured in South Africa would be used to assemble the vehicles in India before the production line there starts making all components. The new vehicle combines
2464-605: The process can take up to two years, he replied, "It is not unusual." On 29 January, the government confirmed that the Hinduja Foundation had held a reception for Vaz in September 1999 to celebrate his appointment as the first Asian Minister in recent times. The party was not listed by Vaz in the House of Commons Register of Members' Interests and John Redwood , then head of the Conservative Parliamentary Campaigns Unit, questioned Vaz's judgement in accepting
2520-714: The production of electronics such as televisions. While not a keiretsu, Sony is an example of a modern Japanese conglomerate with operations in consumer electronics , video games , the music industry , television and film production and distribution , financial services , and telecommunications . In China, many of the country's conglomerates are state-owned enterprises , but there is a substantial number of private conglomerates. Notable conglomerates include BYD , CIMC , China Merchants Bank , Huawei , JXD , Meizu , Ping An Insurance , TCL , Tencent , TP-Link , ZTE , Legend Holdings , Dalian Wanda Group , China Poly Group , Beijing Enterprises , and Fosun International . Fosun
2576-477: The same day, Vaz told reporters that they would "regret" their behaviour once the facts of the case were revealed. "Some of you are going to look very foolish when this report comes out. Some of the stuff you said about Peter, and about others and me, you'll regret very much when the facts come out," he said. When asked why the passport application of one of the Hinduja brothers had been processed more quickly than normal, being processed and sanctioned in six months when
2632-704: The specification of two Paramount mine-resistant vehicles, the Marauder and the Matador, with the Ashok Leyland's basic four-wheel drive military vehicle Stallion. Official website Hinduja Group Hinduja Group is an Indian conglomerate . The group is present in eleven sectors including automotive , oil and specialty chemicals , banking and finance , IT and ITeS, cyber security , healthcare , trading , infrastructure project development, media and entertainment , power, and real estate . The net worth of
2688-406: The transaction was " accretive to earnings." The relatively lax accounting standards of the time meant that accountants were often able to get away with creative mathematics in calculating the conglomerate's post-acquisition consolidated earnings numbers. In turn, the price of the conglomerate's stock would go up, thereby re-establishing its previous price-earnings ratio, and then it could repeat
2744-425: The well-known conglomerates include Jardine Matheson (AD1824), Swire Group (AD1816), (British companies, one Scottish one English; companies that have a history of over 150 years and have business interests that span across four continents with a focus in Asia.) C K Hutchison Whampoa (now CK Hutchison Holdings ), Sino Group , (both Asian-owned companies specialize business such as real estate and hospitality with
2800-663: The whole process with a new target. In plain English, conglomerates were using rapid acquisitions to create the illusion of rapid growth. In 1968, the peak year of the conglomerate fad, U.S. corporations completed a record number of mergers: approximately 4,500. In that year, at least 26 of the country's 500 largest corporations were acquired, of which 12 had assets above $ 250 million. All this complex company reorganization had very real consequences for people who worked for companies that were either acquired by conglomerates or were seen as likely to be acquired by them. Acquisitions were
2856-537: The world through its association with Leyland and AVIA. The Mk VIII Centaur tanks which were built at Leyland taking part in the Italian campaign in 1943. While the OT 64 Czech armoured carrier's chassis units were manufactured by AVIA in 1963. Ashok Leyland has extended its automotive expertise to the defence sector, for over three decades, and has been a pioneer in the design, development and manufacture of special vehicles, serving
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#17328687455672912-536: The youngest brother, Ashok, oversees the Indian interests. The group employs over 200,000 people and has offices in many major cities around the world including in India. In 2017, Srichand and Gopichand Hinduja were described as the wealthiest men in Britain with an estimated wealth of £ 16.2 billion in the Sunday Times Rich List 2017 . In 2015, at The Asian Awards , the Hinduja brothers were honoured with
2968-553: Was alleged by arms campaigner Mark Thomas that this contravened UK arms export legislation, as a number of the company's directors were UK residents or citizens. In June 2024, a human trafficking trial began in Switzerland against four members of the Hinduja family, who were accused of exploiting household staff at their lakeside villa in Geneva , by reportedly paying as little as $ 8 for workdays lasting 15 to 18 hours and confiscating their passports. The allegations were refuted by
3024-462: Was formed in 1981 from the merger of Fletcher Holdings , Challenge Corporation, and Tasman Pulp & Paper, in an attempt to create a New Zealand-based multi-national company. At the time, the newly merged company dealt in construction, building supplies, pulp and paper mills, forestry, and oil & gas. Following a series of bungled investments, the company demerged in the early 2000s to concentrate on building and construction. In Pakistan , some of
3080-487: Was on its way out. The stock market eventually figured out that the conglomerates' bloated and inefficient businesses were as cyclical as any others—indeed, it was that cyclical nature that had caused such businesses to be such undervalued acquisition targets in the first place —and their descent put "the lie to the claim that diversification allowed them to ride out a downturn." A major selloff of conglomerate shares ensued. To keep going, many conglomerates were forced to shed
3136-584: Was revealed that UK government Minister Peter Mandelson had telephoned Home Office minister Mike O'Brien on behalf of Srichand Hinduja, who was at the time seeking British citizenship, and whose family firm was to become the main sponsor of the "Faith Zone" in the Millennium Dome . Consequently, on 24 January 2001 Mandelson resigned from the Government for a second time, insisting he had done nothing wrong. An independent enquiry by Sir Anthony Hammond came to
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