Govt to meet key Tata officials to take stock of tensions among trustees, Tata Sons’ listing plans: Report

The government is reportedly likely to intervene in the infighting at the Tata Trusts that could possibly impede the functioning of Tata Sons. This comes amid deep divisions that have reportedly come up among the trustees a year after the demise of Ratan Tata. 

According to a report in The Economic Times, two senior cabinet ministers will hold talks with four key officials of the Tata Group in Delhi to discuss the ongoing tussle. Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran and Tata Trusts trustee Darius Khambata are expected to take part in the discussions, the report added.

The meeting is set to take up two agendas – to discuss ways to ensure that the division among the trustees get contained and don’t impact the functioning of Tata Sons and the companies within it, and to discuss the question of a public listing of Tata Sons. Tata Sons, the holding company of the $180-billion conglomerate is controlled by the Tata Trusts. 

WHAT IS THE FIGHT ABOUT

A year after the demise of patriarch Ratan Tata the trustees are divided over the appointment of nominee directors to the board. The manner in which long time board member, Vijay Singh, was ousted as a nominee director to Tata Sons, has sparked wider concerns. Venu Srinivasan and Noel Tata opposed the ouster of Singh as well as the proposal to appoint Mehli Mistry, who’s another trustee, to the board.

Pramit Jhaveri, Jehangir Jehangir and Darius Khambata had approved the appointment of Mistry. 

Apart from that an email by one of the trustees to the others, seen as a veiled threat to remove Venu Srinivasan from Tata Sons board in a similar manner to Singh’s, has also escalated tensions, the report added. This move is seen as an attempt to hijack Tata Sons and take over control. 

Meanwhile, the company also has a number of board positions to fill, which has become a difficult prospect before the Trusts make a decision.