Tata Sons urges shareholders to purge ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry from their boards
Tata Sons has taken another swipe at ousted former chairman Cyrus Mistry, urging the shareholders of several Tata Group companies to remove him from their boards.
In a four-page letter, Tata Sons, which is the holding company of the $100bn (£79bn) conglomerate, said his presence as chairman at some firms "is likely to lead to fragmentation of the Tata Group".
It comes days ahead of key meetings at six group companies, including Tata Motors and Tata Consultancy Services, when shareholders are expected to vote on removing Mistry from their boards.
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Tata Sons management said Mistry misled the selection committee set up in 2011 to pick a chairman to succeed Ratan Tata, by making lofty statements about his plans for the Tata Group, but in the next four years none of those "plans have been given effect to".
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It also said Mistry concentrated power and authority in his role as chairman over the past three to four years, trying to weaken management structures in Tata companies "acting contrary to fiduciary duties".
Mistry was sacked in October and a public spat broke out soon after, with Mistry claiming Tata Sons made him a “lame duck chairman” and called his departure invalid and illegal.
Last week, Tata Steel and UK steelworkers unions agreed to a £1bn rescue deal for the group's UK operations, including the Port Talbot plant in Wales.