Majumdar, Arjya B.
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3418-1439
(2026)
The corporate governance of Indian unicorns.
In:
Advancing Corporate Governance Research: Emerging New Structures and Directions.
Edward Elgar Publishing, pp. 71-100.
ISBN 9781035324965
9781035324965-chapter5.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to Repository staff only
Download (769kB) | Request a copy
Abstract
Indian companies have traditionally been closely held, controlled and monitored by concentrated shareholding structures, usually within families. Controlling shareholders – promoters – have usually played an all-pervasive role in the day-to-day management of the company. As a result, institutional investors such as venture capital and private equity funds, often seen as “outsiders,” would look to contractual measures to curb promoter opportunism. However, the rise of an entrepreneurial culture, coupled with regulatory incentives in India, have led to the creation of numerous unicorns – startups that have achieved a high valuation. This chapter reviews the shareholding structure of such unicorns, particularly the balance of corporate control between promoters and institutional shareholders. We analyze the corporate governance rights contracted between promoters and institutional shareholders of such unicorns. The purpose is to ascertain whether unicorns have ownership structures that are different from other companies, thus creating an exception to the “insider” model of corporate governance seen in most Indian companies. We find that increased “outsider” shareholding is directly linked to the creation of more professionally managed unicorns. We also demonstrate that as Indian companies attain unicorn status, they are less likely to maintain a “closed” or an insider model of corporate governance, instead moving to a more dispersed model of shareholding with multiple institutional investors. As unicorns approach a dispersed model, their governance also changes, increasingly resembling publicly listed companies, including the appointment of independent directors, heightened reporting requirements, and affirmative voting rights requiring minority investor support for critical decisions.
| Item Type: | Book Section |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | Corporate governance | Unicorns | Startups | Shareholder protection |
| Subjects: | Social Sciences and humanities > Business, Management and Accounting > Business and International Management Social Sciences and humanities > Social Sciences > Law and Legal Studies |
| Depositing User: | Mr. Arjun Dinesh |
| Date Deposited: | 09 Apr 2026 04:44 |
| Last Modified: | 09 Apr 2026 04:44 |
| Official URL: | https://doi.org/10.4337/9781035324965.00013 |
| URI: | https://pure.jgu.edu.in/id/eprint/11147 |
Downloads
Downloads per month over past year
Dimensions
Dimensions