TVS succession dispute: Why Venu Srinivasan’s family is feuding over the family business

The HBO Emmy-winning series Succession is playing out in real life as a dispute has emerged inside one of India’s oldest business families. Members of the TVS promoter family are divided over how ownership of major group companies should pass to the next generation.

In this succession battle, industrialist Venu Srinivasan and his son Sudarshan Venu are pitted against Venu’s wife Mallika Srinivasan and daughter Lakshmi Venu.

And on Monday (October 12), the Srinivasan vs Srinivasan battle kicked up a notch when Mallika and Lakshmi stated that a fair recognition of rightful economic ownership remains unresolved, directly contradicting Venu Srinivasan’s claims that all family matters have been settled.

“No economic settlement has taken place within the Venu Srinivasan family,” said Lakshmi Venu and Mallika Srinivasan in a statement.

But why are the Srinivasans fighting against one another? And what could happen next in this succession battle?

Who are the TVS’ Srinivasans?

The TVS Group, a major Indian multinational conglomerate, was founded in 1911 by TV Sundaram Iyengar. A lawyer and banker by profession, he began his entrepreneurial journey by launching a small bus service in Madurai.

In the following years, TVS, as he was popularly called, diversified by importing and distributing Firestone tyres and Ford and Graford truck components. In 1923, he became a sub-dealer for Chevrolet and that was when TV Sundaram Iyengar and Sons was established.

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The company kept growing, and in 1979, TVS Sundaram Iyengar’s grandson, Venu Srinivasan, the third generation, took charge of the TVS Motor Company.

Today, the Srinivasan family comprises his wife, Mallika Srinivasan, his daughter, Lakshmi Venu, and his son, Sudarshan Venu.

In August 2025, Srinivasan’s son Sudarsan took over as managing director and chairman of TVS Motor Company. Srinivasan, meanwhile, was appointed as chairman emeritus. Srinivasan, who remains on the board of TV Sundram & Sons, is also vice-chairman of Tata Trusts and a director on the Central Board of the Reserve Bank of India.

The dispute within the Srinivasan family has Venu Srinivasan and son Sudarshan Venu pitted against Venu’s wife Mallika Srinivasan and daughter Lakshmi Venu. File image/Reuters

What is the TVS family dispute all about?

At the heart of the current dispute within the TVS family, which came out in the open just a few days ago, is the division of economic ownership and family wealth across businesses controlled by the Venu Srinivasan family.

At present, the family controls interests in several businesses, including TVS Holdings, TVS Motor Company, TVS Credit and Sundaram-Clayton. A 2024 family memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between Srinivasan, Mallika, Lakshmi and Sudarshan explained who could use the TVS name for which businesses.

The agreement also ensures that Sudarshan cannot use “TVS”, “Sundaram” or “Sundram” for die-casting, in which Venu and Lakshmi have exclusive rights. Mallika and Lakshmi cannot use those names for the TVS Holdings businesses.

An Economic Times report also cited people close to Venu and Sudarshan saying that an agreement was reached between the four that Lakshmi would get SCL from Venu’s side and TAFE from her mother’s side, while Sudarshan would get TVS Motor.

However, in their joint statement, Lakshmi and Mallika note, “While management of these businesses is clear, the MOU entered into in 2024 only deals with brand usage and non-compete. It does not deal with economic settlement or a valuation-based division of family wealth

Mallika Srinivasan, and daughter, Lakshmi Venu are seeking changes to the division of assets within the family. They argue that the 2024 MoU signed by them only covers brand rights and related obligations, not the ownership of family assets or an economic settlement. Image Courtesy: TAFE

Simply put, the current argument is based on running and managing the businesses. According to Srinivasan and Sudarshan, the MoU also formalised a division of family assets, a claim rejected by Mallika and Lakshmi.

As Mallika noted in her statement, published on Monday (October 12), the 2024 MoU covers brand rights and related obligations, not the ownership of family assets or an economic settlement.

“The March 2024 MoU concerned arrangements relating to trademarks, brand usage and non-compete obligations only,” she said. “Economic settlement and ownership are not within the scope of the MoU.”

She further stated that there’s a difference between running a business and owning it. “It would be pertinent to point out here that management and ownership are fundamentally distinct and should not be conflated,” she said.

This is important because if one follows Venu and Sudarshan’s argument, then the latter comes out on top when it comes to wealth distribution. TVS Motors, run by Sudarshan, made a revenue of Rs 56,069 crore and profit of Rs 3,693 crore. On the other hand, Lakshmi’s Sundaram-Clayton reported revenue of Rs 2,025.6 crore and profit of Rs 334.27 crore. Moreover, on Monday, Sundaram-Clayton had a market capitalisation of Rs 2,650 crore, while TVS Motor’s stood at Rs 1.87 trillion.

The dispute also involves an earlier December 2020 family arrangement. Lakshmi and Mallika said the broader TVS family partition, agreed upon in 2020 and implemented subsequently, had been carried out through a process involving the relevant stakeholders. However, they said no comparable process had taken place to settle the economic interests within the Venu Srinivasan family.

In 2020, the 115-year-old TVS industrial group was divided among the different branches of the family of founder T V Sundaram Iyengar. The settlement involved valuing the assets, dividing them on mutually agreed terms, and compensating family members. As part of the arrangement, the Venu Srinivasan family assumed control of key group companies.

Supporters of Sudarshan argue that the two agreements together created a clear succession structure. However, Lakshmi and her side argue that neither document amounts to a final transfer of her ownership rights.

The dispute within the TVS family could reach court with both sides having already assembled legal teams. File image/Reuters

What comes next in the TVS family dispute?

According to reports, Mallika Srinivasan is urging the family to negotiate and agree on a framework to distribute economic wealth on mutually acceptable terms.

However, according to NDTV, Lakshmi Venu may be evaluating legal options. A succession suit before the Madras High Court is viewed as a possible route, though company law proceedings could also be considered, NDTV reported.

The feud also comes at a precarious time for Venu Srinivasan. He has assumed significance in the Tata Sons succession crisis, as he backed Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran for a third five-year term, while Noel Tata, the chairman of the Tata Trusts, is on the other side.

With inputs from agencies