Shapoorji Pallonji Group backs Tata Sons listing amid Trusts opposition

Shapoor Mistry, chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, has backed a public listing of Tata Sons, saying it would improve transparency and accountability. The SP Group owns about 18.4 per cent, while Tata Trusts hold about 66 per cent

New Delhi: Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the second-largest shareholder in Tata Sons, on Friday backed a public listing of the holding company of the Tata Group’s sprawling salt-to-software, automobiles and aviation businesses, adding weight to the board’s push for a listing despite opposition from Tata Trusts.

Shapoor Mistry, chairman of the Shapoorji Pallonji (SP) Group, which owns about 18.4 per cent of Tata Sons, said a listing would strengthen transparency and public accountability at one of India’s most consequential business institutions.

---

His comments mark a clear public endorsement of the listing by one of Tata Sons’ key shareholders at a time when the proposal has exposed differences between the company’s board and the charitable trusts that control it.

The Tata Sons board has favoured moving ahead with a listing following the Reserve Bank of India’s rejection of the company’s application to surrender its registration as an upper-layer non-banking financial company (NBFC). Tata Trusts, which collectively control about 66 per cent of Tata Sons, have opposed the listing, with their Chairman Noel Tata urging the company to explore alternatives.

Mistry, in a statement, said the listing was “not merely a financial or regulatory matter” but a “social and moral imperative”, and called it an opportunity to strengthen governance while preserving the philanthropic role of the Tata Trusts.

The SP Group’s backing is significant because it aligns the second-largest shareholder with the Tata Sons board at a time when the company’s controlling shareholder is resisting a listing. While the Trusts’ majority stake gives them substantial shareholder power, the SP Group’s position adds weight to the board’s case that Tata Sons should transition towards greater public accountability.

The dispute now centres on whether Tata Sons can reconcile the RBI’s regulatory requirements with the Tata Trusts’ preference to preserve the company’s existing privately held structure. The Trusts have proposed providing liquidity to the SP Group through a transaction of at least Rs 25,000 crore as an alternative to listing Tata Sons.

The latest developments also come amid a separate dispute over Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran’s tenure. The Tata Sons board has backed a further five-year term for Chandrasekaran, while Noel Tata has opposed the move and the Trusts have challenged the validity of the board’s decision.

Mistry, in the statement, welcomed the RBI’s decision and said the listing could usher in greater transparency and public accountability at the holding company of the Tata Group.

He said the RBI’s decision had provided “full clarity” and that Tata Sons should now move towards compliance with the regulatory framework governing upper-layer non-banking financial companies.

“I welcome the decision wholeheartedly,” Mistry said.

The RBI rejected Tata Sons’ application on September 11 to voluntarily surrender its registration as a core investment company and directed it to take steps to comply with regulations applicable to upper-layer NBFCs. Tata Sons had sought deregistration in March 2024 after repaying Rs 21,813 crore of debt.

Tata Sons was classified as an upper-layer NBFC in 2022. Under the regulatory framework, such entities are subject to enhanced requirements, including a stock-market listing. Tata Sons did not list by the original September 2025 deadline and instead pursued deregistration, leaving the issue unresolved until the RBI’s latest decision.

Mistry said listing could help “strengthen transparency and public accountability” while preserving the philanthropic role of the Tata Trusts. He said a publicly accountable Tata Sons could broaden investor participation, improve visibility into value and provide a stronger basis for funding philanthropy.

“The listing of Tata Sons can become a bridge,” Mistry said, calling for reconciliation between shareholders, Tata Trusts and other stakeholders rather than allowing the issue to become a source of division.

Mistry also appealed to the Tata group’s trustees, directors, shareholders and employees to approach the issue “in a spirit of harmony and shared purpose”. He said the Shapoorji Pallonji Group was ready to work with Tata Sons and the Tata Trusts towards a “deeper, more harmonious” relationship.

Tata Sons sits at the centre of the Tata conglomerate, whose businesses span technology, automobiles, steel, aviation, consumer products and other sectors. The company has remained privately held, with Tata Trusts as its controlling shareholder and the Shapoorji Pallonji Group as a significant minority shareholder.

“Transparency, in my view, is the truest form of respect for both legacy and the future,” Mistry said.

He also invoked Tata founder Jamsetji Tata’s philosophy that business should serve the wider community, arguing that a stronger and more transparent Tata Sons could ultimately expand the resources available to the Tata Trusts for philanthropy.

Mistry ended his statement by saying the objective was not “victory for one side”, but “a stronger Tata institution, stronger philanthropy, greater accountability, deeper partnership and, ultimately, greater service to India.”