Tata Writing Down Assets After Buying Spree: Corporate India

Cyrus Mistry, chairman of Tata Sons Ltd., is writing down the value of some of the $15.5 billion assets purchased by his predecessor over two decades to boost the allure of India’s biggest corporate group.

Less than a year after taking over as chief, the billionaire scion has pared the value of overseas assets by at least 95 billion rupees ($1.5 billion) after Europe’s record recession and a global slowdown eroded the value of U.K. steelmaker Corus Group Plc and New York’s Pierre hotel. The $100 billion group has more than 100 companies, including Asia’s top software developer by value, the world’s second-largest soda ash maker and Starbucks Corp.’s India partner.