Tata Sons Ltd. and Ratan Tata clinched another victory, with shareholders of Tata Motors Ltd. voting to oust Nusli Wadia from the automaker's board.
71.2 percent of the investors who voted at the extraordinary general meeting on Thursday agreed to remove Wadia as independent director, according to the company's statement.
Of the total 2,554 shareholders who voted, 1,037 voted against the resolution to remove Wadia. But these 1,037 cast votes on 59,16,75,057 shares whereas the 1,517 that voted in favour of the resolution cast votes on 1,46,28,37,944 shares.
Effectively, only 28.8 percent supported Wadia.
Promoters Vs Public Shareholders
Promoters hold 32.43 percent in Tata Motors, and 99.96 percent of their votes were cast in favour of the resolution.
The voting pattern was very different in the 67.57 percent held by public shareholders. 55.60 percent participated in the vote, and of that 53.57 percent voted against the resolution to remove Wadia.
- 50.06 percent of institutional shareholders who participated voted in favour of the resolution.
- Only 39.36 percent of the retail shareholders who participated voted to support the resolution to remove Wadia.
Nano Investments
The vote came after Ishaat Hussain, director of Tata Sons, said the board had lost confidence in Wadia and his independence. Subodh Bhargava, who chaired the EGM, admitted that the Nano project turned out to be a huge drag on Tata Motors' balance sheet. Bhargava however added that not all the investment made in the world's cheapest car project has gone to waste. Both Wadia and former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry have repeatedly criticised the Nano project.
Wadia was removed as independent director on Tata Steel Ltd.'s board on December 21.
Also Read: Tribunal Asks Mistry To Provide Evidence To Prove Allegations Against Tata Sons
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