Mumbai: Multiple trustees of Tata Trusts are discussing revisiting a July resolution that said Tata Sons should stay private, in a move that could remove the main opposition to the conglomerate’s holding company getting listed on India’s bourses, in line with a mandate set by the country’s banking regulator three years ago.
Tata Trusts is majority shareholder of Tata Sons.
Minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group has been clamouring for a public listing for years, as the debt-ridden group could use the liquidity a listing would unlock. The move to potentially modify the resolution comes amidst divisions in the Tata Trusts that ET first reported on September 12.
The change in stance comes days after Tata officials met home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, where the government urged them to avoid further confrontation, maintain stability within the Trusts and not let differences impact operations of India’s largest business group. Whether the trustees favouring clearing the path for a Tata Sons listing can secure a majority decision is as yet unclear. There is a desire among trustees to avoid the show of a divided house, even as differences remain, persons close to the developments said.
On Friday, SP Group reiterated its demand for a Tata Sons listing. Tata Trusts stands divided between two factions after four trustees — Darius Khambata, Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri and Jehangir Jehangir — broke precedent by voting to remove a fellow nominee trustee, Vijay Singh, from Tata Sons’ board on September 11. They then suggested nomination of Mehli Mistry to the board.
Business as Usual at Board Meeting
That was blocked by chairman Noel Tata, vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, who remains a Tata Trusts trustee.
Tata Trusts, which owns a controlling 66% stake in Tata Sons through the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, had passed a resolution in July that Tata Sons should remain a privately held company, a stance that could now be revisited.
On Friday, it was business as usual at the Tata Trusts board meeting, with an agenda focused on project funding and other regular matters, people aware of the details said.
Growing pressure to find a viable solution for SP Group's exit — and to unlock value in the group holding company — has been reshaping internal discussions, said people with knowledge of the matter. “There is no animosity between SP Group and Tata Sons now,” one of them said.
Tata Trusts did not comment.
The development comes amid shifting power dynamics within Tata group, following the appointment of Noel Tata as chairman of Tata Trusts after the death of half-brother Ratan Tata last October.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata is married to Aloo Mistry, daughter of the late Pallonji Mistry and sister to Shapoorji and the late Cyrus Mistry. The Mistry family runs SP Group.
SP Group Wants IPO
SP Group on Friday clarified that its demand for going public — citing the need for greater transparency and accountability — was not in opposition to Tata Sons or Tata Trusts, but in alignment with the values of the founding families.
“The public listing of Tata Sons is not merely a financial step — it is a moral and social imperative,” chairman Shapoorji Mistry said in a statement, adding that the move would serve the interests of stakeholders and align with the vision of Tata group’s founder. “Our position is not in conflict, but completely in consonance with, the ideals of (founder) Jamsetji Tata,” he said.
SP Group has long pushed for a public offering by Tata Sons, especially since a legal dispute erupted between the two sides, following Cyrus Mistry’s ouster as Tata Sons CEO in October 2016. The group has used its entire holding in Tata Sons as collateral to raise money from private credit funds. The value of its stake in Tata Sons, based just on the latter’s holdings in listed Tata group companies, is more than ₹3 lakh crore ($35 billion).
In April, SP Group formally urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to back a public listing of Tata Sons, arguing that such a move would benefit all stakeholders. Struggling to service substantial debt, SP Group had also expressed its concerns to Tata Sons over not being informed about the company’s decision to apply to surrender its registration as a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
Shapoorji Pallonji Group said a listing would unlock value for more than 120 million shareholders of listed Tata companies, indirect stakeholders in Tata Sons. In addition, Tata Trusts would also benefit through a more transparent dividend policy, allowing for sustained funding of philanthropic efforts, it said.
It also cited regulatory obligations under the central bank’s scale-based framework for NBFCs. Under the rules, companies in the ‘upper layer’ category, such as Tata Sons, are required to go public by September 30. “We trust that the 30th September 2025 compliance timeline... will be viewed with the seriousness and sanctity that regulatory commitments deserve,” the SP Group statement read.
Tata Sons has sought to deregister as a core investment company (CIC), hoping to avoid the mandatory stock market listing. The company controls companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors and Air India, and shifted from a net debt of ₹20,642 crore in March 2023 to a net cash surplus in 2024, partly due to its ₹9,300-crore TCS stake sale.
Valued at over ₹15.8 lakh crore through its listed holdings alone, Tata Sons is seen as systemically important by regulators.
RBI’s concerns extend beyond financial metrics to governance and transparency at the conglomerate’s helm. Government sources say officials are watching closely, balancing stability within SP Group with concerns over the growing concentration of control within Tata Trusts.
Tata Trusts is majority shareholder of Tata Sons.
Minority shareholder Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group has been clamouring for a public listing for years, as the debt-ridden group could use the liquidity a listing would unlock. The move to potentially modify the resolution comes amidst divisions in the Tata Trusts that ET first reported on September 12.
The change in stance comes days after Tata officials met home minister Amit Shah and finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi, where the government urged them to avoid further confrontation, maintain stability within the Trusts and not let differences impact operations of India’s largest business group. Whether the trustees favouring clearing the path for a Tata Sons listing can secure a majority decision is as yet unclear. There is a desire among trustees to avoid the show of a divided house, even as differences remain, persons close to the developments said.
On Friday, SP Group reiterated its demand for a Tata Sons listing. Tata Trusts stands divided between two factions after four trustees — Darius Khambata, Mehli Mistry, Pramit Jhaveri and Jehangir Jehangir — broke precedent by voting to remove a fellow nominee trustee, Vijay Singh, from Tata Sons’ board on September 11. They then suggested nomination of Mehli Mistry to the board.
Business as Usual at Board Meeting
That was blocked by chairman Noel Tata, vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh, who remains a Tata Trusts trustee.
Tata Trusts, which owns a controlling 66% stake in Tata Sons through the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, had passed a resolution in July that Tata Sons should remain a privately held company, a stance that could now be revisited.
On Friday, it was business as usual at the Tata Trusts board meeting, with an agenda focused on project funding and other regular matters, people aware of the details said.
Growing pressure to find a viable solution for SP Group's exit — and to unlock value in the group holding company — has been reshaping internal discussions, said people with knowledge of the matter. “There is no animosity between SP Group and Tata Sons now,” one of them said.
Tata Trusts did not comment.
The development comes amid shifting power dynamics within Tata group, following the appointment of Noel Tata as chairman of Tata Trusts after the death of half-brother Ratan Tata last October.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata is married to Aloo Mistry, daughter of the late Pallonji Mistry and sister to Shapoorji and the late Cyrus Mistry. The Mistry family runs SP Group.
SP Group Wants IPO
SP Group on Friday clarified that its demand for going public — citing the need for greater transparency and accountability — was not in opposition to Tata Sons or Tata Trusts, but in alignment with the values of the founding families.
“The public listing of Tata Sons is not merely a financial step — it is a moral and social imperative,” chairman Shapoorji Mistry said in a statement, adding that the move would serve the interests of stakeholders and align with the vision of Tata group’s founder. “Our position is not in conflict, but completely in consonance with, the ideals of (founder) Jamsetji Tata,” he said.
SP Group has long pushed for a public offering by Tata Sons, especially since a legal dispute erupted between the two sides, following Cyrus Mistry’s ouster as Tata Sons CEO in October 2016. The group has used its entire holding in Tata Sons as collateral to raise money from private credit funds. The value of its stake in Tata Sons, based just on the latter’s holdings in listed Tata group companies, is more than ₹3 lakh crore ($35 billion).
In April, SP Group formally urged the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to back a public listing of Tata Sons, arguing that such a move would benefit all stakeholders. Struggling to service substantial debt, SP Group had also expressed its concerns to Tata Sons over not being informed about the company’s decision to apply to surrender its registration as a non-banking financial company (NBFC).
Shapoorji Pallonji Group said a listing would unlock value for more than 120 million shareholders of listed Tata companies, indirect stakeholders in Tata Sons. In addition, Tata Trusts would also benefit through a more transparent dividend policy, allowing for sustained funding of philanthropic efforts, it said.
It also cited regulatory obligations under the central bank’s scale-based framework for NBFCs. Under the rules, companies in the ‘upper layer’ category, such as Tata Sons, are required to go public by September 30. “We trust that the 30th September 2025 compliance timeline... will be viewed with the seriousness and sanctity that regulatory commitments deserve,” the SP Group statement read.
Tata Sons has sought to deregister as a core investment company (CIC), hoping to avoid the mandatory stock market listing. The company controls companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors and Air India, and shifted from a net debt of ₹20,642 crore in March 2023 to a net cash surplus in 2024, partly due to its ₹9,300-crore TCS stake sale.
Valued at over ₹15.8 lakh crore through its listed holdings alone, Tata Sons is seen as systemically important by regulators.
RBI’s concerns extend beyond financial metrics to governance and transparency at the conglomerate’s helm. Government sources say officials are watching closely, balancing stability within SP Group with concerns over the growing concentration of control within Tata Trusts.
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