Ambani brothers' battle heats up

Mumbai: Anil Ambani has won a significant round in his ongoing battle with his estranged older brother, Mukesh Ambani.

The Bombay High Court on Monday ruled that Mukesh's Reliance Industries should supply natural gas to Anil's Reliance Natural Resources as per the terms of a family agreement signed in 2005--$2.34 per million metric British thermal units for 17 years. That's 40% lower than the benchmark price of $4.20 per million metric BTUs the government set for Reliance Industries to sell to other customers.

The court ordered the warring billionaire brothers to conclude a gas supply agreement within a month, even urging them to refer to their mother, Kokilaben, the architect of the original family settlement, for a final resolution.

In 2005, the brothers agreed to divide the business empire built by their late father, Dhirubhai Ambani, in a settlement brokered by their mother. Mukesh got Reliance Industries, whose activities span oil and natural gas, chemicals, textiles and retail; Anil's share included interests in telecom, financial services and energy. Mukesh is ranked seventh on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest people; Anil is ranked 34th.

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But the sibling rivalry has simmered since, exploding into intermittent battles, the most high-profile of which related to the agreement over natural gas from a Reliance Industries-controlled field off the east coast of India, which came on stream earlier this year. Anil dragged Mukesh to court for reneging on the price and quantity of gas that he'd been promised in the family settlement. Last year, Mukesh scuttled his younger brother's attempt to complete a mega-merger between his telecom firm, Reliance Communications, and South Africa's MTN, claiming he had first right over any shares Anil wanted to sell. Anil countered by suing Mukesh over a The New York Times interview. 

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Images: Mukesh Ambani