Tata Sons to cut all ties with Cyrus Mistry's companies

The Asian Age.

Business, Companies

Development part of an ongoing feud between Cyrus Mistry and Tata Tata Sons over former's ouster as chairman.

N Chandrasekaran assumed charge of Tata Sons chairman in March this year.

Mumbai: Over nine months after Cyrus Mistry was removed as Tata Sons chairman, the Tata group has backed cutting all its business ties with Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the company run by brother duo Cyrus and Shapoor Mistry. A report in The Economic Times says that the decision will put at risk transactions worth hundreds of crores of rupees.

With this, the ongoing battle between Tata Group and Cyrus Mistry has further intensified. Mistry was sacked as Tata Sons chairman on October 24 last year. After that, he dragged Tata group to court with a plea before National Company Law Tribunal to invalidate his ouster. Tata Sons is the holding company of all group companies.

Shapoorji Pallonji group is second largest share holder in Tata Sons after the Tata Trusts. SP holds 18.4 per cent stake in the $103 billion tea-to-chemicals conglomerate and has been reduced merely to a shareholder, as at present, SP does not have its member on Tata boards.

"Almost 50 companies of the SP Group will be affected by the Tata Sons board decision taken on August 9. Cyrus Mistry and elder brother Shapoor Mistry each own half of the privately-owned SP Group," the ET report said.

The report adds that as many as 42 SP companies are on black list of Tata Sons and since 1980 Mistry-owned companies have got business worth Rs 20,000 crore form Tata. SP group built majority of the TCS campuses and Tata Motors factories.

After he was sacked, Cyrus Mistry rushed to NCLT with a plea seeking stay on his removal. Mistry had alleged in his complaint that Tata Group neglected interest of minority shareholders. He also alleged oppression and mismanagement at Tata group companies. Tata group had denied all the allegations leveled by Mistry and said that Mistry preferred to safeguard personal gains to protecting group's interests.

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