Cyrus P. Mistry’s legal tussle with Tata Group since being expelled as the chairman of Tata Sons in November 2016 is unlikely to find a cordial solution anytime soon, with the USD113 billion salt-to-software conglomerate is reportedly unwilling to make any concessions, including buying out the Shapoorji Pallonji Group’s (SP Group) stake.

On Thursday, the Shapoorji Pallonji group submitted a separation plan to the Supreme Court that will sever its 70-year-old ties with the Tatas seeking a pro-rata division of all the Tata Sons assets based on its stake in the Tata group holding company. The Tata Sons will try to avoid taking squeezed out route under Article 75 as it would mean buying the Shapoorji Pallonji group’s stake, as per the media report. It is worth noting that Article 75 gives Tatas the power, through a special resolution, to squeeze out the Mistry family by buying out their shareholding at fair market value, which the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had pegged at more than Rs 1 lakh crore in 2019.

The Tatas is expected to put forward the argument that the case came up for hearing before the top court as they are appealed the verdict of the NCLAT that had quashed Mistry’s sacking as chairman of Tata Sons. This was the main legal issue before the court and not the ‘settlement’ of the fight between the Tatas and Shapoorji Pallonji Group.  In addition, the company would immediately request that the stay on SP Group’s pledging of Tata Sons shares be made permanent, and the likely exit of the SP Group from Tata Sons was not before the court, the publication mentioned, citing unnamed sources.

SP group is likely to file settlement terms for its exit from Tata Sons

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