Tata, 78, who retired as Tata Group Chairman nearly four years back, justified his return for "maintaining stability and continuity of leadership" and promised to give the group "a world-class leader" when a fulltime boss is appointed.
The company divests from properties abroad to focus on its key markets.
The 36 new properties, which will also include expansion across two new countries, will add 5,431 rooms.
The Cyrus Mistry camp is confident that independent directors will take their cue from their counterparts in Indian Hotels.
The sudden resignation and almost-immediate announcement of a successor came as a surprise to many.
'Jin Jiang had invested in Louvre Hotels.' 'Louvre, a couple of months ago, took a majority in Sarovar hotels.' 'So they are coming in now.' 'Look at the Chinese -- two quarters ago they took 25 percent in Hilton.' And then HNA also took majority in Carlson (Radisson).'
