Billionaire Pallonji Mistry, Chairman of the multifaceted Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning, according to business authorities. Mistry, whose SP Group owns 18.37 percent of the Tata Group, was 93 years old. ‘Indian-born Mistry died mid-sleep around 0100 hours at the family house in South Mumbai,’ they claimed. He had obtained Irish citizenship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his sadness at the billionaire’s death in a tweet. ‘ He made enormous contributions to trade and industry,’ Modi added. Mistry, who was born in 1929, was the CEO of the privately held, $5 billion SP Group, which had its roots in the construction industry but has expanded into other industries such as real estate, textiles, shipping, and home appliances.
In 2016, the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honor, was bestowed upon the secretive corporate icon, who was reputedly valued at more than $29 billion. He is survived by four children, including Cyrus Mistry, who replaced Ratan Tata as Tata Group Chairman before being removed by the board in 2016. Financially, the SP Group has had a difficult time in recent years, and it has also had difficulty raising funds by pledging its Tata Group shares.
The Mistrys have been fighting Cyrus’ ouster and, as part of the legal wrangling, have offered to sell their stake in the Tata Group. In the midst of financial woes, the SP Group sold a controlling share in home appliances behemoth, Eureka Forbes, to private equity behemoth Advent for Rs 4,400 crore. The SP Group was formed in 1865 and has constructed key buildings in the financial capital, including the Reserve Bank of India and HSBC, throughout its 150-year history.
Mistry’s death, according to Union Cabinet Minister Smriti Irani, marked the end of an era. ‘ To have observed his talent, his tenderness at work,’ she remarked, ‘was one of life’s greatest thrills’. Other ministers who offered condolences were Nitin Gadkari, Mansukh Mandaviya, Hardeep Singh Puri, and Karnataka Chief Minister B S Bommai. According to authorities, a burial ceremony will be performed on Wednesday morning, followed by the ‘Uthamna’ procedure according to Parsi norms at the Tower of Silence in South Mumbai’s Kemps Corner.
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