Tata Group says it's open to buy Mistry group's shares to aid fundraising

Tata Group, India’s largest conglomerate, is open to buying the shares in Tata Sons Pvt. held by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to aid the latter’s fund raising efforts, Tata’s lawyer told India’s Supreme Court.

The Shapoorji Pallonji Group, controlled by tycoon Pallonji Mistry and his family, own about 18% of closely held Tata Sons, the holding company of the $113 billion software-to-cars Tata empire. The offer to buy Mistry group’s stake will help stave off the possibility of Tata Sons’s shares being pledged that runs the potential risk of falling in the hands of unfriendly investors.

The Supreme Court will next hear the case on October 28.

To pay upcoming maturing debt, Mistry’s empire was in preliminary discussions to borrow as much as $1 billion by pledging a part of its Tata Sons stake to pay maturing debt after asset sales stalled amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported in March, citing people familiar with the matter.

Mistry’s son, Cyrus, has been locked in a legal fight with Tata since he was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons in a 2016 boardroom coup.