L&T eyes green energy, plans to sell non-core biz as Naik exits

livemint.com:

MUMBAI : I am leaving, but I am still there," said A. M. Naik, the departing chairman of engineering and construction giant Larsen & Toubro (L&T) Ltd, while addressing his final and the conglomerate’s 78th annual general meeting (AGM) on Wednesday.

S. N. Subrahmanyan, the current chief executive of L&T will be taking over as the group’s chairman effective 1 October, while Naik, a legendary corporate leader, will head L&T Employee Trust, which, with 14%, is the largest shareholder in L&T and will benefit the most from the special dividend of ₹6 per share, which was announced as a “parting gift" for the shareholders on the eve of Naik’s departure.

“I will be the chairman emeritus for L&T but I will be associated with the group as the chairman of the largest shareholder group (L&T Employee Trust) whose stake is worth ₹52,000 crore," said Naik, who evoked mixed emotions during the AGM that reflects his widely-known closeness to L&T and somewhat his unwillingness to dissociate from the eight-decade-old group. “You can take me out of L&T, but you can’t take L&T out of me," said Naik while interacting with L&T shareholders in his 25th AGM as the chairman. “It was nearly six decades ago that I first walked through the gates of L&T with an application in my hand and a dream in my heart," said the 81-year -old, while emphasizing that it is the first time L&T is appointing a chairman who is not originally from the company’s Mumbai headquarters.

“We never looked for anyone beyond Mumbai office (to be the chairman). But, this time, we have chosen Subrahmanyan," said Naik. Responding to a veteran shareholder’s query on L&T’s plan in the rapidly emerging semiconductor space, Naik said, “We are already over-diversified, working in over