Noel Tata raises concerns over losses at Tata Sons board meet: Sources

Chief executives of Air India, Tata Digital and Tata Electronics — key group bets facing mounting losses — made presentations; Chandrasekaran’s reappointment may be discussed on June 12.

Mumbai: Heads of new-age businesses made presentations before the Tata Sons board during a day-long meeting in the financial capital on Tuesday, according to sources.

The chief executives of Air India, Tata Digital and Tata Electronics — some of the most ambitious bets for the group from a future perspective but reeling under losses — made presentations before the six-member board.

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There was no clarity on the outcome of the meeting, which was also attended by Tata Trusts’ chairman Noel Tata, who had reportedly raised concerns over the losses at some of the group businesses.

Next meeting of the Tata Sons board is likely to be held on June 12, and the crucial discussion on the reappointment of current chairman N Chandrasekaran may come up at that meeting, sources said.

Directors of the board, including Tata Trusts’ chairman Noel Tata, arrived at its headquarters Bombay House in the morning and left in the late afternoon. Chandrasekaran, the chairman of the group, did not speak to the waiting media on the decisions at the board meeting while exiting the group headquarters in South Mumbai.

Chandrasekaran and Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata, who is a nominee director on the Tata Sons board, are understood to have met over the weekend to discuss the same matter on the performance of the group companies.

In FY25, Tata group’s unlisted businesses posted a loss of Rs 10,905 crore, which is likely to go up to Rs 29,000 crore, according to reports. It can be noted that the Tata group, which includes the Tata Trusts owning two-thirds of Tata Sons, the holding company of the group, has seen a lot of top-level friction lately, which has included expulsions or attempts to expel some members and also a deferment on a decision on Chandrasekaran’s continuation as the chairman of Tata Sons.

According to reports, Noel Tata is concerned about the mounting losses at Tata Sons, particularly from new businesses started under Chandrasekaran, such as Tata Digital and the electronics ventures, and also the financially struggling carrier Air India, which was bought from the government a few years ago.

Noel Tata is also reluctant to take Tata Sons public through an IPO. At present, Tata Sons, a core investment company, has been classified as among the top-15 non-bank finance companies (NBFCs) by the RBI, which are mandated to list.

Neville Tata, the son of Noel Tata, has already been inducted into a few of the trusts or foundations linked to the group.