Tata stocks dip with wipeout of Rs 21,000 cr

These firms had lost about Rs 10,700 crore yesterday. Shares of Tata Motors dipped 4.27 per cent, Tata Steel slumped 4.01 per cent, Tata Power lost 2.06 per cent and TCS fell by 0.07 per cent on BSE. Besides, Tata Metaliks slipped 3.85 per cent, Tata Elxsi dropped 3.15 per cent, Tata Global Beverages (3.10 pc), Tata Chemicals (2.83 pc), Tata Communications (2.68 pc), Tata Sponge Iron (0.57 pc) and Tata Coffee (0.42 pc). Tata Group overall commands market capitalisation of over USD 125 billion (close to Rs 8.5 lakh crore), with software giant TCS alone accounting for Rs 4,72,301.73 crore. 

In the stock market, the BSE benchmark Sensex too fell by 254.91 points to end at 27,836.51. Mistry’s family firm Shapoorji Pallonji Group has 18.4 per cent in Tata Sons -- the holding firm of the group companies. The Board of Tata Sons, where 66 per cent shares are held by philanthropic trusts endowed by members of the Tata family, had removed Chairman Mistry, saying it was acting “for the longterm interest” of the firm. 

His predecessor Ratan Tata has been made the Interim Chairman and a committee has been set up to look for a new head of the USD 100 billion conglomerate. Sacked unceremoniously, a “shocked” Cyrus Levelling a series of allegations against Ratan Tata, Mistry contended that he was pushed in to a position of “lame duck” Chairman and changes in decision-making process created alternate power centres in Tata Group. Meanwhile, in an explosive confidential email to Tata Sons board members, he accused them of replacing him as Chairman of India’s largest conglomerate of without so much as a word of explanation and without affording him an opportunity of defending himself “in a summary manner” that must be unique in the annals of corporate history.