UK-based industrialist Lord Swraj Paul, the India-born Chairman of the Caparo Group, passed away in London on Thursday evening at the age of 94. Lord Paul, who had taken ill recently, made an indelible mark in the business and industrial spheres in India, the UK and other countries. His failed takeover bids for Escorts and Shriram had created a ruckus in the Indian industrial and political circles in the 80s that eventually led to the formation of the famous ‘Bombay Club’, a grouping of Indian business titans.
Lord Paul, who moved to the UK in 1966, laid the foundation of the Caparo Group in the UK in 1968. The Caparo Group, with headquarters in London, has operations in the UK, India, USA, Canada and UAE.
“Deeply saddened by the passing of Shri Swraj Paul Ji. His contributions to industry, philanthropy and public service in the UK, and his unwavering support for closer ties with India will always be remembered. I fondly recall our many interactions,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his post on X.
Lord Paul was born in Jalandhar, India on February 18, 1931, completed his high school education in Jalandhar and Bachelor’s in Science from Punjab University in 1949. Thereafter, he went to the US to pursue his Bachelor’s & Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Headquartered in London, Caparo operates internationally from over 40 sites and serves customers globally, primarily from operations based in the UK, North America, India, and the Middle East. Caparo is now managed by his three children, Ambar, Akash and Anjli Paul. His son Angad, CEO of Caparo, died at the age of 45, after falling from his penthouse in London in November 2015.
He was active in the political and social circles in the UK. He sat in the House of Lords as a Cross-Bencher with the title Baron Paul of Marylebone, in the City of Westminster. He was sworn in as a Privy Councillor in October 2009.
Lord Paul founded the Indo-British Association in 1975 to promote better understanding between India and Britain and served as its Chairman. Lord Paul was also the Chairman of the Ambika Paul Foundation, a Charitable Trust in the memory of his daughter; and he helped build the Ambika Paul Memorial Gardens & Ambika Paul Children’s Zoo at the London Zoo. He was conferred with the prestigious civilian award Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in 1983.
Failed takeover bids
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In the early 1980s, India’s stock market was still maturing, with most companies tightly controlled by promoter families and only a small public shareholding. UK-based Lord Paul, who had a close relationship with then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saw this as an investment opportunity and mounted takeover bids on Escorts and DCM. These takeover attempts exposed vulnerabilities in corporate governance in India. They were among India’s first hostile takeover attempts, rare in that era.
In 1983, through Caparo Group Investment Ltd, Lord Paul began buying large quantities of shares in Escorts Ltd., using a legal provision that allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest up to one per cent in Indian companies without prior RBI approval. His goal was to gain management control, exploiting the fact that the Nanda family, Escorts’ promoters, held under 10 per cent of shares.
The Nandas resisted what they viewed as a hostile takeover. The Indian government, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, intervened. Financial institutions like LIC and UTI, which held major stakes, backed the Nandas. Rules were swiftly changed, restricting further NRI investment and freezing Paul’s purchases.
Lord Paul made a similar takeover attempt with Shriram Group-owned DCM Ltd in Delhi, but again faced resistance. Regulators tightened FERA rules and closely monitored his actions.
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The episode drew national attention and led to political controversy. Indira Gandhi was accused of protecting Indian business elites, clashing with her anti-monopoly image. Paul ultimately withdrew from India, focusing instead on growing his business abroad.
These were among India’s first hostile takeover attempts, exposing governance gaps and prompting key regulatory reforms in NRI investment and corporate control.
Bombay Club formation
After Lord Paul’s takeover attempts in the early 1980s, a significant shift occurred in the behaviour of Indian industrialists — they began to join hands to protect themselves from hostile takeovers.
An informal grouping of Indian business families called the Bombay Club then came into being in the early 1990s in the aftermath of Lord Paul’s takeover attempts, though Lord Paul himself was not a member. Rahul Bajaj, LM Thapar and Bharat Ram were prominent members of the club. Promoter families, who previously operated in competitive silos, realized the vulnerability of low promoter shareholding. Bombay Club doesn’t exist now as their opposition dissipated even as India opened up the economy from the early 1990s.
Caparo Group operations
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Caparo, founded by Paul in 1968, is a leading diversified business group with interests in design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of value-added steel and niche engineering products for the automobile and engineering industries. It is one of the largest 100 per cent single family-owned businesses.
The group currently employs more than 8,500 people in its worldwide operations across Europe, North America, Asia, Middle East and Far East. While metals and metallic products remain its core operational and business domains worldwide, the group’s activities also include hotels, media, energy, financial services, medical products and private equity investment, according to Caparo.
Caparo operates through multiple independent legal business entities specializing in design, development, and manufacture of automotive parts and components for OEMs and engineering majors. Over the years, its strategic expansion plans include diversified interests in renewable energy, logistics, financial services, and hospitality.
Caparo India’s operations began in 1994 with Caparo Maruti Ltd (CML), a joint venture with Maruti Suzuki India, the largest car manufacturer in India, to provide sheet metal stamping, weld assemblies, and complete sub-modules. In 2000, following the success of CML, Caparo expanded its Indian operations with Caparo Engineering India Ltd (CEIL), which was formed to cater to the needs of all other OEMs. Subsequently, plants were added almost every year in close proximity to OEMs.
With its headquarters in Gurugram, Caparo India has over 25 manufacturing units across the country, many of which are greenfield developments. Its businesses are divided into stamping, non-stamping and commercial tool rooms, both in the automotive and non-automotive space. Its core capabilities lie in stamping/sheet metal, forging, aluminium die casting, fasteners, and steel tube manufacturing. Apart from catering to the needs of all the major OEMs in the passenger, commercial vehicle, and off-highway segments, it also supplies heavy and critical fabrication parts to the Indian Railways.
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