Coinciding with the beginning of a search for Chairman Ratan Tata's successor, the Tata

RELATED ARTICLES RIL may price Rs 4,900 cr bond today Govt rejects RIL demand for gas price revision RIL to charge $0.15 marketing margin on CBM gas OilMin disallows $1.2b RIL spend in KG block RIL representatives to face PAC tomorrow on gas block issue

Group has become the country's wealthiest, with a market value of about Rs 3,71,000 crore -- higher than that of the business houses led by the two Ambani siblings.

The Tata Group is followed by Mukesh Ambani-run Reliance Industries group as the second-most valued firm (Rs 3,21,750 crore), Anil Agarwal-promoted Sterlite group at third (Rs 1,35,300 crore), Anil Ambani group at fourth (Rs 1,25,000 crore) and Sunil Mittal-led Bharti group at fifth (Rs 1,20,500 crore), in terms of cumulative market capitalisation.

However, the Tatas would be relegated to second position if the market values are combined of the two Reliance groups -- one led by Mukesh Ambani and another by younger sibling Anil -- in the backdrop of their now harmonious relationship after years of acrimony till a few months ago.

The combined market capitalisation of the two Ambani groups currently stand at nearly Rs 4,47,000 crore -- higher than the Tatas by nearly Rs 77,000 crore.

On a standalone basis, the Tatas have replaced Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries group as the country's biggest in terms of market value at a time when the issue of finding a successor to iconic industrialist Ratan Tata as the next chairman of the salt-to-software group is hogging the limelight.

Earlier this month, the Tata Group announced that it has set up a search panel for identifying a successor to Ratan Tata, who assumed charge of the group in 1991 and is scheduled to retire in December, 2012.

The cumulative market capitalisation of about 30 listed Tata Group companies currently stands at nearly Rs 3,71,000 crore -- a surge of nearly Rs 35,000 crore in the current quarter beginning July.

At the end of the previous quarter (April-June 2010), the Tata group had a total market cap of Rs 3,26,000 crore -- making it the second-most valued firm after the Mukesh Ambani group.

With just two listed companies -- Reliance Industries (RIL) and Reliance Industrial Infrastructure Ltd (RIIL) -- the Mukesh Ambani group had a market cap of nearly Rs 3,58,000 crore at the end of the previous quarter. It has declined by nearly Rs 37,000 crore so far in the current quarter.

The Anil Ambani Group, with seven listed companies, currently has a total market value of nearly Rs 1,25,000 crore -- down from nearly Rs 1,42,400 crore at the end of the June quarter. The group was the country's third-most valued after the Mukesh Ambani and Tata Groups at the end of the previous quarter.