The Indian tycoon Ratan Tata, who is credited with transforming the Tata Group into a globally renowned conglomerate, has died at age 86, the company has said.

“It is with a profound sense of loss that we bid farewell to Mr Ratan Naval Tata, a truly uncommon leader,” Tata Group said in a statement on X. The firm is one of the largest companies in India, with annual revenues of over $100bn (£76.5bn).

Natarajan Chandrasekaran, the chair of Tata Sons and Tata Group, added: “His legacy will continue to inspire us as we strive to uphold the principles he so passionately championed.”

Tata ran the group for more than 20 years as chairman. He had been undergoing intensive care in a Mumbai hospital, two sources with direct knowledge of his medical situation told Reuters.

He was described as a “a visionary business leader, a compassionate soul and an extraordinary human being” by the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi.

After graduating with a degree in architecture at Cornell University, he returned to India and in 1962 began working for the group his great-grandfather had founded nearly a century earlier. He worked in several Tata companies, including Telco, now Tata Motors Ltd, as well as Tata Steel Ltd, later making his mark by erasing losses and increasing market share at group unit National Radio & Electronics Company.

In 1991, he took the helm of the conglomerate when his uncle JRD Tata stepped down – the passing of the baton coming just as India embarked on radical reforms that opened up its economy to the world and ushered in an era of high growth.

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