Mumbai — Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata has called on the Tata Sons board to reconsider a restructuring proposal that could allow the holding company to remain privately held and avoid a stock market listing.
Speaking at a Republic TV event in Mumbai, Tata said he remains hopeful that the Reserve Bank of India will reconsider its classification of Tata Sons as an upper-layer non-banking financial company.
Tata argued that listing Tata Sons could fundamentally change the way the Tata Group has operated for decades by introducing outside shareholders whose expectations for financial returns could conflict with the philanthropic objectives of Tata Trusts.
Tata Trusts, which owns about 66% of Tata Sons, has proposed merging Tata Electronics Systems Solutions and Tata Consulting Engineers into Tata Sons. The restructuring would give Tata Sons its own operating businesses and revenue, potentially allowing it to avoid classification as an NBFC or core investment company.
The RBI placed Tata Sons on its list of upper-layer NBFCs in September 2022, requiring the company to list within three years.
Tata Sons later cleared its debt and applied in 2024 to surrender its core investment company status in an effort to remain private. The central bank rejected the application earlier this month and directed the company to comply with applicable regulations.
Noel Tata was the only dissenting member when the Tata Sons board voted earlier in September to begin preparations for a potential listing and grant Chairman N. Chandrasekaran another five-year term.
Tata has also questioned the legality of the board’s decision to reappoint Chandrasekaran as chairman.
He said Tata Sons has historically provided financial support to group companies during difficult periods and raised concerns about whether outside shareholders would support similar investments if the holding company became publicly traded.
Tata also highlighted education, healthcare and employment as major areas of focus for Tata Trusts and said more needs to be done to bridge the gap between university education and the skills required by industry. (Source: IANS)
