Pallonji Mistry

Some Lesser Known Facts About Pallonji Mistry

• Pallonji Mistry was an Irish businessman who was born in India. He headed the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group as its chairman. He was ranked India’s 9th richest and Ireland’s richest businessman in 2021. He passed away at the age of 93 on 28 June 2022.

• He joined his father’s construction business Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd in 1947.

• He was appointed the director of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd in 1975 after his father passed away.

• In 1976, after Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd constructed the Sultan of Oman Qaboos bin Said al Said’s palace, it became India’s first company to complete a construction project outside India. Thereafter, the company received several contracts for constructing landmark buildings in different countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

• Famous buildings such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) building, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building, The Taj Mahal Palace hotel, and Brabourne Stadium were constructed by Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd.

• Pallonji Mistry has served in organisations like the Union Bank of India, W. H. Brady Group of Companies, The Associated Cement Companies (ACC) Ltd., and Tata Sons as a member of the board of directors. Pallonji has also worked as the chairman of ACC Ltd.

• Under his chairmanship, Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd acquired and established several businesses under its flagship, hence, becoming Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group.

• He became the director of Shapoorji Pallonji & Company Ltd on 22 April 1987.

• He assumed the directorship of Shapoorji Pallonji Finance Limited on 4 April 1994.

• He assumed the position of Sterling Investment Corporation Private Limited’s director on 17 November 1995.

• At Shapoorji Pallonji And Company (Rajkot) Private Limited, he was appointed director on 20 November 1995.

• On 6 November 1997, Pallonji Mistry assumed Shapoorji Pallonji Infrastructure Capital Company Private Limited’s director.

• He became Afcons Infrastructure Limited’s director on 26 April 2000.

• He assumed the directorship of Eureka Forbes Ltd after the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group acquired it on 15 March 2002.

• He founded an old age home at The B. D. Petit Parsee Hospital in Mumbai in 2006 along with his wife Pat.

• Under his chairmanship, the SP Group established Sovereign Pharma Private Limited on 28 May 2003.

• In 2012, after resigning from the post of chairman of the SP Group due to age-related illnesses, Pallonji appointed his elder son Shapoor Mistry as the company’s chairman.

  

• After Cyrus Mistry was removed as Tata Sons’ chairman, the SP Group took the company to court following which the relations between the Tatas and Mistrys deteriorated. In July 2020, Tata Sons sought intervention from the Supreme Court against the SP Group’s decision to mortgage 18.3% of their stakes in Tata, which was bought by Pallonji’s father in the 1930s, to Brookfield for raising a debt worth Rs 3,750 crore. The SP Group in its statement said that the loan was taken against the stakes to financially support the employees of the SP Group during the COVID pandemic. It said,
  

  The Mistry family were in the midst of raising funds against the security of their personal assets. This move was undertaken to protect the livelihoods of its 60,000 employees and over 100,000 migrant workers. The action by Tata Sons to block this crucial fund-raise, without any heed for the collateral consequences, is the latest demonstration of their vindictive mindset.”

  The SP Group was unable to mortgage its shares as the Supreme Court delivered its judgement in September 2020 in Tata Sons’ favour. Following the decision, the SP Group announced that they will be discontinuing their partnership with Tata Sons as it bore no fruitful results. ^[9]The Hindu BusinessLine In its official statement, the SP Group stated,

  Mutual co-existence of both groups at Tata Sons would be infeasible… and a separation from the Tata group is necessary. The current situation has forced the Mistry family to sit back and reflect on the past, present and possible future for all stakeholders. The past oppressive actions, and the latest vindictive move by Tata Sons that impact the livelihoods of the wider SP Group community, leads to the inexplicable conclusion that the mutual co-existence of both groups at Tata Sons would be infeasible.”

• Pallonji consumed alcoholic beverages occasionally. ^[10]The Irish Times