Cyrus Mistry Death: Will Tata Sons-Shapoorji Pallonji Group bury the hatchet?

Experts say the untimely demise of Cyrus Mistry in a road mishap near Mumbai is unlikely to have any huge impact on the leadership of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
Ratan Tata with Cyrus Mistry. (File photo)

Ratan Tata with Cyrus Mistry. (File photo)

New Delhi: The shocking death of Cyrus Mistry, the former chairman of Tata Sons, is the latest personal blow for the Mistry family, whose patriarch Pallonji Mistry— Cyrus’s father—died, aged 93, in June. At present, the moot question is: Will Cyrus Mistry’s untimely demise put an end to the acrimonious conflict between Tata Sons and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group which erupted after Mistry was removed as chairman of Tata Sons in October 2016?
Cyrus Mistry died in a car accident near Mumbai on Sunday. He was 54.
In 2012, Tata Sons’ chairman emeritus Ratan Tata picked Cyrus as his successor after he decided to quit all executive responsibilities when the industrialist turned 75. However, within a span of mere four years, relations between them soured over a number of decisions, including corporate governance and reforms that Cyrus had tried to carry out.
Further, the Supreme Court in March 2021 upheld the removal of Cyrus and the subsequent appointment of N Chandrasekaran as chairman. During the legal tussle, the SP Group had said that the apex court should fix a valuation. This, however, did not happen. Also, the Tatas showed no interest in acquiring SP Group’s 18.4 per cent stake in Tata Sons—the holding company of the salt-to software conglomerate.
Citing people with knowledge of the matter, ET reported Shapoor Mistry, Cyrus’ elder brother, may be more agreeable to finding a solution to resolve the matter. The fight is largely over the final terms on which the SP Group might exit. Moreover, the rights of the minority shareholder (SP Group) have mainly been settled in favour of Tata by the apex court verdict.
Observers tracking the companies are hopeful that cracks can be repaired. Additionally, the stake that the Mistrys hold in Tata Sons, they have a common Parsi lineage, and Noel Tata, Ratan Tata’s half-brother, is married to Cyrus’ sister Aloo.
Meanwhile, the SP Group is in the middle of a huge debt restructuring process that saw stakes being divested in a few group businesses. Industry watchers say what is worth interesting observing is whether the SP Group will seek to monetise its crown jewel, the stakes in Tata Sons.
In 2020, the Mistry group applied for a one-time loan restructuring with a group of lenders led by State Bank of India (SBI) when it had faced a huge cash crunch leading to a Rs 200-crore default on a commercial paper issued to the Union Bank of India.
After his ouster from the Tata group, Cyrus floated a new venture capital company called Mistry Ventures LLp along with Shapoor in 2018.
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