India???s biscuit major will seek shareholder approval for Mr Jacob???s appointment as one of Danone???s three board nominees in next week???s annual general meeting (AGM) in Kolkata. Mr Jacob, who spearheaded his company???s acquisition trail in the past, will sit on the Britannia board, along with the other two Danone representatives ??? Stephan Gerlich and Francois Xavier Roger. Both Wadia Group and Danone have three seats each on the board for their almost equal shareholding in Britannia.
The entry of Mr Jacob, who is seen as Danone???s world-wide crisis manager on both political and strategic fronts, is significant coming in the wake of its not so successful moves to snap ties with industrialist Nusli Wadia.
Observers, who have tracked the Wadia-Danone war, believe that Mr Jacob, touted as a consummate negotiator, may succeed in bringing a thaw in the acrimonious ties and revive the stalled settlement process.
Danone has been discussing disengagement and exit from Britannia with its local partner for well over a year, but has been cold-shouldered by the Wadia camp which has laid out stiff conditions and lower-than-expected valuation on shares. Mr Jacob, an amiable-yet-tough-talking honcho, is a key lobbyist with the India government for scrapping of the government regulation Press Note 1, which makes it mandatory for the French giant to seek Wadia Group???s consent to start independent operations in the country.
He has been the chief architect of the separation process between the two decade-old allies, and has made several visits to Udyog Bhavan to meet commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath and his officers for an amicable settlement. He has also pushed the explanation why Danone is not required to get NOC from the Wadias for its independent India plans, but without much success till now. Danone, which recruited a top-level team, has been forced to delay its India plans in the absence of a settlement with the Wadias.
The relationship between Danone and the Wadias turned for the worse about 18 months ago, with Britannia alleging that the French partner had employed the Tiger trademark, a key intellectual property (IP), in overseas markets without the Indian company???s consent. Mid-last year, both partners decided to go in for arbitration in Singapore even as Danone expressed its intent to break free from the Wadia camp and start independent operations.
The 12-member Britannia board with Nusli Wadia as chairman also has six independent directors, including SS Kelkar, Nimesh Kampani and Keki Dadiseth.