Construction baron Pallonji Mistry has called off his bid to take complete control of consumer appliances company Eureka Forbes, a subsidiary of engineering and textiles company Forbes Gokak. This follows Swedish white goods giant AB Electrolux deciding to remain invested in the company.

Electrolux holds a 40 per cent stake in the joint venture, Eureka Forbes, which is a market leader in water purifiers and vacuum cleaners. Electrolux also owns the brands used by the company, namely, Aquaguard, EuroClean and EuroAir.

Forbes Gokak executives said there had been a series of discussions between the two companies on the issue. However, Electrolux intends to continue to hold its investment.

Last year, the board of Forbes Gokak approved the acquisition of Electrolux's stake in Eureka Forbes for Rs 31.77 crore (Rs 317.7 million). The Swedish giant had shown a positive response to the proposal. However, the matter made no headway because of the issue of the transfer of brand rights.

Globally, Electrolux has exited the direct marketing business by selling it to a German company. The Indian business was not part of the worldwide deal because, under the shareholders' agreement, Forbes Gokak had the first right of refusal if Electrolux planned to sell its stake.

The joint venture is involved with just marketing of the brands. Eureka Forbes subsidiary, AP Industrial Components, manufactures water purifiers. Fal Industries, a subsidiary of Forbes Gokak, makes vacuum cleaners.

Mistry came to control Forbes Gokak when the Tatas decided to sell the company in 2001 as part of the group's recasting plan.  In the process, he inherited various diversified subsidiaries -- from a shipping agency to textiles, from engineering to consumer appliances -- that were controlled by Forbes Gokak.