Ratan Tata writes letter to stakeholders

Mumbai: Ratan Tata , chairman of the Tata Group has sought the support of the Tata Sons shareholders to support the resolution at the forthcoming extraordinary general meeting (EGM)  for the removal of former chairman of the group Cyrus Mistry as director.

Mr Tata said that the board had lost confidence in him and his ability to lead the Tata group in the future.

He explained that the decision was taken “after the relationship with Mr Mistry steadily deteriorated and several attempts to remediate went unheeded.”

Mr Tata said that he was offered the opportunity to step down voluntarily as chairman but he rejected it a said the decision should be taken by the board.

Explaining that Mr Mistry was appointed director by virtue of the fact that he was group chairman and should have resigned when he was ousted, Mr Tata said that his continuance “is a serious disruptive influence on these company boards which dispelling doubts that might have arisen in the minds of shareholders regarding allegations made by Mr Mistry over corporate governance issues and need to close loss making ventures like Nano and Tata Steel’s business in Europe Mr Tata said that the group always had the interest of shareholders in mind whilst supporting and funding businesses during the development and growth phases.  

“The group also was respected for promoting and practising the best corporate governance standards,” Mr Tata said.

Mr Tata appealed to shareholders to support the EGM resolution “to enable our companies to  continue on the path of growth and value creation as they have done over their long-standing past history.”