Mumbai, March 8 -- Promoters of Indian companies are increasingly transferring their personal and family stakes to trusts, a move that has as much to do with succession planning as with avoiding estate tax, if it ever comes back, and fending off hostile takeovers. The trend is helped along by the markets regulator, which has granted open offer exemptions to as many as 47 promoters, who have sought its permission since 2013. Of these, 31 exemptions were granted since the start of 2017, a period that has seen rising concerns over a possible return of estate duty, levied on the value of assets passed on to legal heirs. With the exemption, promoters do not have to make an open offer to buy out shares from the public, a requirement that typicall...