U.K. divorce court rules on ownership of Mara Group

A London divorce-court judge has ruled that Ashish Thakkar owns Mara Group, a holding company for technology and real estate investments and stakes in companies,

the

Wall Street Journal

reported.

Thakkar, who is ending five years of marriage to Meera Manek, had told the court that Mara Group was owned by his mother and a sister. “His wife disputed that, and the judge heard evidence two weeks ago from family members on the company's ownership structure,” the

Journal

article said.

Justice Philip Moor “didn't assign any value to the company or indicate how it might be carved up in the divorce,” the article said. Mara Group has not made its value public, but the

Journal

has estimated the company's investments and assets at $30 million.

According to the report, the judge said in the ruling, that Thakkar “has not been running the business for the sole benefit of his mother and sister. That was a blatant lie.”

Thakkar, 35, is a British citizen who lives in Dubai. He dropped out of school at 15 to sell computer parts in Africa and built the holding company over 20 years, the

Journal

reported.

Mara Group has had difficulty raising capital for some projects, and investors have questioned the size of the company, the

Journal

article said. (Source:

Wall Street Journal

, Feb. 22, 2017.)