Shapoorji Pallonji - A Historical Overview
- The Shapoorji Pallonji Group was founded in 1865, in Mumbai, by Pallonji Mistry and an English partner.
- During the early stages of its establishment, the company mainly focused on construction.
- Their first project was the construction of pavements on the Girguam Chowpatty, followed by the building of the reservoir on Malabar Hill in 1881.
- The company acquired the finance firm F.E. Dinshaw and Co., which had connections with the Tata Group, including a 12.5% stake in Tata Sons.
- Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry, son of the founder of the company, stepped forward and took over the operations and functioning of the company as a leader.
- In the 1960s, he financed the popular historical Bollywood film Mughal-e-Azam, earning it the record for being the most expensive film for several years.
- The company overtook its first international project, the Qasr Al Alam palace in Oman, in 1975.
- The company further expanded under the leadership of the great-grandsons of the founder, Shapoor Mistry and Cyrus Mistry.
- In 2006, Cyrus Mistry joined the board at Tata Sons, thereby overtaking the stakes earlier acquired to a current share of 18.37%.
- The Pallonji family holds a stake of 130 million USD in Tata Consultancy Services.
- In 2010, Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. built the 64-storey Imperial Tower. This tower is India’s tallest residential building.
- In 2019, the fifth generation of the Mistry family, Pallon Mistry, stepped into the leadership roles in the company. His sister, Tanya, was awarded the responsibility of handling the corporate social responsibility activities
- As of today, the company operates in various sectors in addition to construction, including real estate, textiles, engineered goods, home appliances, shipping, publications, power, and biotechnology.