Tata Group plans to organise global investor summit

MUMBAI: A global investor summit is in the works at Tata Group amid rising uncertainty after ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry made serious allegations over corporate governance and mismanagement at salt-to-steel conglomerate.

More than 150 global and local investors have agreed to participate in summit which is slated to be held on mid-November in Mumbai this year, sources told ET. Tata Group spokesperson Debasis Ray confirmed the development but declined to share further details.

The summit initially was going to be Mistry’s first such presentation before the global investor community. It is not yet clear who will be making Tata group pitch after Ratan Tata made a comeback as interim chairman on Monday. “It was an opportunity for Mistry to give a strategic vision for the next five years... how he looks at Tata Group’s future in India and abroad,” said a person involved with arranging the conference.

Global sovereign wealth such as Singapore's GIC and institutional investor such as Fidelity are among those who signed up. Others who are participating are Global Capital Finance and Blackrock. Investor conference comes at a crucial times as investors and shareholders grapple with the news of sudden sacking of Mistry and expectation of change in group strategy under Tata.

Mistry's in its letter to the board a day after his replacement claimed that the Group's legacy foreign acquisition strategy, with the exceptions of JLR and Tetley, had left a large debt overhang on the conglomerate. He warned the group may face $18 billion in writedowns because of five unprofitable businesses he inherited.

The public spat has left the conglomerate red faced and sent shockwaves in India Inc. Tata met Life Insurance Corp, India's largest financial investor, to assuage fears. Shares of Tata group companies have taken a beating this week.

There are 29 publicly-listed Tata enterprises with a combined market capitalisation of about $116 billion as on March 31, 2016. In 2015-16, the revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $103 billion.