Tragedy-Hit Mistrys Have $29 Billion Locked In Bitter Feud With Tatas
For Shapoor Mistry, this year has been extremely trying. The son of one of the richest families in the world is now faced with a significant economic issue after losing his father and younger brother in the space of three months.
The Mistry family has developed an empire over the course of five generations and 157 years that is in charge of erecting palaces, factories, and stadiums all over Asia. However, the majority of the family fortune, which the Bloomberg Billionaires Index pegs at $29 billion, is locked up in a simmering dispute with Tata Group, the largest conglomerate in India.
Now that the economy is faltering and interest rates are rising, Mr. Mistry, 57, will need to find out how to settle that disagreement and free up cash for his Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which has recently recovered from years of financial strain due to the pandemic. According to others acquainted with the conversation, he has spoken with attorneys and consultants. They continued, asking to remain anonymous because they were discussing private matters, “Those, along with family friends, have offered to mediate when the time is right.”
Prior to their separation, the Mistrys and Tatas, who are both members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community, had been close for than a century.
The main source of the Mistry family’s riches is the 18% ownership share they have in Tata Sons Pvt., the $128 billion conglomerate that owns luxury brands including Jaguar Land Rover. It is one of the least liquid fortunes on the earth since Mr. Mistry is unable to sell such holdings due to the ill will between the two parties.
“The yearslong dispute between Tata Sons and Shapoorji Pallonji Group has re-emphasized the need for Indian companies to build in specific clauses around acquisitions, mergers and sales,” said Kavil Ramachandran, a professor and senior advisor at the Thomas Schmidheiny Centre for Family Enterprise of the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad. He added that he expects some senior members of the Parsi community to help initiate a mediation process between the two families at some point.
Prior to their separation, the Mistrys and Tatas, who are both members of the Parsi Zoroastrian community, had been close for than a century.
The main source of the Mistry family’s riches is the 18% ownership share they have in Tata Sons Pvt., the $128 billion conglomerate that owns luxury brands including Jaguar Land Rover. It is one of the least liquid fortunes on the earth since Mr. Mistry is unable to sell such holdings due to the ill will between the two parties.
At the time of his death in an automobile accident in September at the age of 54, Cyrus was in charge of the family’s financial firm. While his two sons and widow stand to inherit his money, no plans for succession have been made public.
Laila and Aloo, two further daughters of Pallonji Mistry, were also left behind, though the family has not divulged any potential inheritance rights. She later wed Ratan Tata’s half-brother Noel Tata, who is currently Tata Sons’ chairman emeritus.
An important step in SP Group’s economic recovery was achieved earlier this year when it paid back lenders $1.5 billion and ended a debt recast programme. But new dangers are emerging from rising interest rates and the possibility of a worldwide recession.
Picture Courtesy: Google/images are subject to copyright
