A board meeting of Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata conglomerate, concluded in Mumbai, with discussions likely revolving around mounting losses in unlisted businesses and the future of Chairman N Chandrasekaran amid rising internal frictions.
Indications are that the Tata Sons stand on listing of the company may come up for a discussion even if it's not part of the agenda
While the leadership issues may get sorted in the upcoming board meetings of Tata Trusts and Tata Sons, listing of the holding company of the Group on stock exchange should potentially resolve the bigger question on ownership and control
The upcoming Tata Sons board meeting in June could possibly throw some light on several critical issues that may have a bearing on the future of the corporate behemoth.
The Tata Sons board has deferred a decision on the re-appointment of Natarajan Chandrasekaran as Chairman, signaling potential differences within the group. Concerns were raised about losses in certain group companies and the listing of Tata Sons.
The much-awaited board meeting of Tata Sons did not discuss listing of the holding company or a third term for Chairman N Chandrasekaran.
The deferral of Natarajan Chandrasekaran's re-appointment as Chairman of Tata Sons has sparked questions regarding a previous unanimous resolution by Tata Trusts and potential internal disagreements.
A crucial Tata Trusts board meeting was unexpectedly postponed, highlighting internal conflicts over veto power, Tata Sons listing, and trustee eligibility, raising concerns about the stability of the $180 billion conglomerate.
The top agenda of the meeting includes a review of Tata Trusts representation on the Tata Sons board.
A much-anticipated board meeting of the Sir Ratan Tata Trust, intended to reconsider nominations to the board of Tata Sons, was cancelled for unspecified reasons, despite the Bombay High Court declining to stay the meeting.
Tata Sons, now debt-free, has asked the RBI to drop its 'upper-layer NBFC' tag and allow it to stay private.
Clarity on Tata Sons' position on listing, as of 2025, would help define the future of the group better, irrespective of the RBI stand. As of now, the ball is in the RBI's court, and everyone is watching the space, points out Nivedita Mookerji.
SP Group chairman Shapoorji Pallonji Mistry on Friday reiterated calls for public listing of Tata Sons to bring transparency, amid infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts which controls a 66 per cent stake in the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate. Shapoorji Pallonji family is the single largest minority shareholder with about 18.37 per cent in Tata Sons.
The government is closely watching the fast-paced developments at the salt-to-semiconductor conglomerate.
'The quality of a leader should be such that even if the leader is not there, the institution carries on.'
The Tata trusts can nominate one-third of the directors of Tata Sons
Noel Tata, a veteran of the Tata group, announced his decision to step down as the chairman of Voltas, following a similar move at Trent, citing the development of a new generation of leaders within the company.
Tata Trusts, which holds a significant stake in Tata Sons, is facing a mandate to immediately comply with Section 30A(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, requiring two of the three life trustees at Sir Ratan Tata Trust to step down to meet the 25 per cent cap on perpetual trustees.
Tata Trusts, which holds a significant stake in Tata Sons, is facing a mandate to immediately comply with Section 30A(2) of the Maharashtra Public Trusts Act, 1950, requiring two of the three life trustees at Sir Ratan Tata Trust to step down to meet the 25 per cent cap on perpetual trustees.
Mehli Mistry is backed by three other trustees -- Pramit Jhaveri, Darius Khambata and Jehangir HC Jehangir -- against Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and the two vice-chairmen, Venu Srinivasan and Vijay Singh.
Shareholders of Tata Sons, the holding company and promoter of Tata group companies, have approved the reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as chairman for another five-year term despite its single largest shareholder the Shapoorji Pallonji family abstaining from voting, according to sources. In February this year, the Board of Tata Sons had approved the reappointment of Chandrasekaran as executive chairman for another five years till February 2027, subject to shareholders' approval. At the shareholders meeting held on Monday, the proposal for Chandrasekaran's reappointment for a second term needed more than 50 per cent of votes as it was an ordinary resolution.
Tata Trusts, which exerts decisive influence over India's most valuable conglomerate through its about 66 per cent stake of Tata Sons, finds itself in the midst of infighting among its trustees over board appointment and governance issues.
A quiet but consequential power struggle has erupted within the storied 156-year-old Tata Trusts just a year after the death of group patriarch Ratan Tata on October 9, 2024.
Veteran industrialist Venu Srinivasan has resigned from the Bai Hirabai Jamsetji Tata Navsari Charitable Institution, following a challenge to his appointment by a former trustee.
In the run-up to the retirement, senior non-executive directors are expected to take up supervisory role in a two-tiered board system consisting of an executive board and a supervisory board.
N Chandrasekaran was on Friday reappointed as chairman of Tata Sons for a second five-year term. Tata Sons in a statement said the reappointment was ratified by the board. "At its meeting on 11 February 2022, the Board of Tata Sons reviewed the last five years and considered the reappointment of its executive chairman N Chandrasekaran," it said in a statement.
Top honchos of the Tata group, including Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, on Tuesday met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman amid infighting among trustees over board appointments and governance issues.
Tata Sons Private Limited, the holding company of the Tata group, witnessed a precipitous drop in its net debt to Rs 5,656 crore in the 10 months ended January this year, as its cash reserves burgeoned to Rs 9,516 crore during this period. Eight years ago, in 2015-16, Tata Sons reported a net debt of Rs 5,132 crore; from March 2017 until March 2023, this figure was above the Rs 14,700 mark, peaking at Rs 27,437 crore at the end of March 2019, according to data sourced from Capitaline. The company's gross debt nearly halved to Rs 15,173 crore until January 2024 on a standalone basis, down from a peak of Rs 31,363 crore reported in the financial year ended March 2019.
Addressing close to 700 employees and the leadership team across the Air India headquarters and Air India Training Academy in Gurugram, Chandrasekaran urged them to stay on course, terming the accident the most "heartbreaking" crisis of his career.
The Supreme Court on Friday set aside NCLAT order of December 18, 2019 restoring Cyrus Mistry as executive chairman of Tata Group.
N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, has been appointed as the chairman of Air India by the airline's board, aviation industry sources said on Monday.
NCLT in its judgement said: "The removal of Cyrus Mistry as executive chairperson was because the board lost confidence and not because they were contemplating that he would cause discomfort to Ratan Tata, N Soonawala and others.' "The Board is competent to remove an executive chairman. Mr Mistry's removal from the position of director came because he admittedly sent out company information to the I-T (department), press, and came out in public against the board and the trust."
Ratan Tata, the octogenarian chairman of Tata Trusts that have controlling stake in Tata Sons, separately said he was extremely disappointed over reports speculating a major revamp in the leadership structure at the group. "I would like to state that no leadership structural changes are on the anvil," Chandrasekaran said in a brief statement. The statement came in relation to a Bloomberg report that said Tata Sons was considering a "historic revamp of its leadership structure by creating a chief executive officer's role to help improve corporate governance."
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran addressed Air India employees, acknowledging the airline's challenging phase while reaffirming the Tata Group's commitment to its long-term transformation, focusing on service quality, safety, and operational improvements.
As the business head of Trent Hypermarket, Neville ensures that customers receive high-quality products that adhere to Tata standards.
At TCS, Chandrasekaran would be succeeded by Rajesh Gopinathan, currently the company's chief financial officer.
After months of discord, the Tata Trusts appear to be moving towards reconciliation, with recent reappointments and open exchanges signalling a return to cooperative governance.
Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata and two other powerful trustees considered close to him blocked the reappointment of late Ratan Tata's close associate and businessman Mehli Mistry as trustee, deepening the rift at the philanthropic arm that controls the holding company of Tata Group, people familiar with the matter said.
On Wednesday, the TCS board approved an up to Rs 18,000 crore buyback offer entailing 4 crore shares at Rs 4,500 apiece. According to a postal ballot notice by the company, Tata Sons and TICL intend to participate in the buyback offer. Tata Sons, which holds about 266.91 crore shares, intends to tender 2.88 crore shares, while TICL (which holds 10,23,685 shares) intends to tender 11,055 shares, it added.
