A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet, goes the Shakespearean saying. Likewise, if the value of a stock is the sum of the present value of its future cash flows, how should it matter to investors whether the equity shares they purchase are called ordinary shares or shares with differential voting rights (DVRs). But apparently, in the case of Tata Motors Ltd, it matters a lot. The company’s ordinary shares now trade at a record premium of about 120% over its DVRs. The ordinary shares, which trade at ₹109.50 apiece, offer one vote for every share held in the company, and the DVRs, which trade at ₹49.95 apiece, offer one vote for every 10 shares held. Researchers such as Aswath Damodaran of New York University say that the difference between voting and non-voting shares is almost entirely explained by the value attached to the possibility of a change in the company’s management or ownership. In a paper that sought to assess the economic value of v...
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