"Time To Separate": Shapoorji Pallonji Group Agrees To Exit Tata Sons

"It was crucial that an early resolution is reached to arrive at a fair and equitable solution reflecting the value of the underlying tangible and intangible assets," the Mistry group said in its official statement.

Shapoorji Pallonji group which owns about 18.5% stake in Tata Sons, announced its separation from the group today saying, "a separation of interests would best serve all stakeholder groups." In a statement issued on Tuesday, Shapoorji Pallonji, the largest minority shareholder in Tata Group said that the it is necessary for the Mistry group to part ways with it due to the potential impact this continuing litigation could have on livelihoods and the economy. "It was crucial that an early resolution is reached to arrive at a fair and equitable solution reflecting the value of the underlying tangible and intangible assets," the Mistry group said in its official statement. It further said that as the largest minority shareholder owning an 18.37 per cent stake, the role hitherto played by the SP Group, was always one of guardianship with an aim to protect the best interests of the Tata group. The SP Group had always used its voting rights as a shareholder for the best interest of the Tata Group. In 2012, when Mr Cyrus Mistry accepted the position of Chairman of Tata Sons, it was not only with a sense of pride, but also with a sense of duty as an ‘insider’ on the Board of Tata Sons. The Tata Group was going through significant change. A generation of Tata leaders were retiring with implications on the future governance of the Group. Several of these leaders who were retiring from the Board of Tata Sons also served as Trustees of the majority shareholders - Tata Trusts. It is in this context that Mistry set about trying to establish a governance structure that would institutionalize accountability, and create the right checks and balances, without contravening the new SEBI Insider Trading law that regulated the flow of information across all stakeholders. Unfortunately, he was removed in October 2016, when he attempted to implement these governance reforms, the statement read. The SP group said that the Tata Sons amplified its institutional efforts to suppress and inflict irreparable harm on the SP Group and hence it was high time for the Mistry family to sir back and reflect on the past, present and future for all the stakeholders.