Ghana’s leading retail chain, Melcom Group of Companies has called on the general public to disregard rumoured claims that the company has made changes to its ownership structure.
The company says the rumours making rounds that the company has involved some external shareholders in its ownership structure is palpable falsehood and must be disregarded. There is no change in Melcom ownership.
In a statement to clarify issues, Melcom maintained that the it still remains a privately-owned entity outrightly dismissing the external shareholding speculations, emphasizing that the ownership of Melcom is unchanged.
“We wish to inform the general public and all the stakeholders that there has been no change in the ownership structure of Melcom Ltd. And its subsidiaries. The group remains privately held, with no external shareholding,” parts of the statement read.
Melcom further indicate that they “request that all rumours and speculations regarding changes in ownership be disregarded and ceased from circulation.” It is crucial to understand that Melcom ownership remains the same.
Melcom is privately owned by three individuals; Bhagwan Khubchandani, Mehesh Melwani and Ramesh Sadhwani. The company opened its first store in Accra Central in the year 1989 by Bhagwan Khubchandani and Mehesh Melwani.
In 1990-2000 Ramesh Sadhwani joined as Joint Managing Director.
For decades, the three have owned the company without any external shareholder with Bhagwan as Chairman and the two as joint managing directors. This consistency in Melcom ownership has contributed to their success.
Although changes to the ownership structure to involve external shareholders has some potential benefits such as increased capital, expansion in the range of products, improved efficiency, there are downsides to it.
Involving external shareholders might lead to over-emphasis on profit leading to increase in prices to affect customers. There is the possibility of a shift to profitability rather than customer loyalty and retention.
There also be less flexibility in decision-making since actions are often influenced by shareholder interests which does not align with Melcom ownership philosophy.
