Tata Trusts said on Thursday that it has not agreed to the listing of Tata Sons, asking the board to explore all available options other than listing and stressing the need to preserve the Tata Group's century-old ownership structure.
The statement followed a Tata Sons board meeting on September 17, where Tata Trusts chairman Noel Tata reiterated the Trusts' opposition to listing.
According to Tata Trusts, the board discussed a communication received from the Reserve Bank of India on September 11 and agreed that all available options, not listing alone, should be thoroughly explored and assessed on an immediate basis. The findings will be presented to the board, after which a separate meeting will be convened to decide the course of action.
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The Trusts said their position has remained consistent, pointing to the Tata Sons board's unanimous decision in March 2024 to remain unlisted, along with resolutions passed by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust in July 2025 favouring the company's continued unlisted status.
They added that the group's ownership structure has allowed Tata Sons to act in ways a purely commercial calculus would not have supported.
Noel Tata told the board that Tata Sons' ownership structure was central to the group's identity and its public-purpose role, noting that the Tata Group was built as a form of national service through business and that its ownership model has sustained that approach for over a century.
He argued that the group's majority shareholder being a charitable trust, with dividends funding public-purpose work, set its operating model apart, and warned, "A listing will destroy its character and strike at the heart of this principle."
The statement proposed that Tata Sons, in consultation with Tata Trusts, make a detailed representation to the RBI, seek a hearing, explore all permissible avenues to avoid a public listing, and take legal advice on available remedies.
It also suggested that even if listing is eventually required, the company should seek at least three years from the date of the RBI's September 11 communication to comply, citing the scale of preparation involved and the company's long-term business commitments.
The push for continuity on both fronts comes as the RBI presses Tata Sons, classified as an Upper Layer NBFC, to comply with mandatory listing norms, after rejecting the company's bid to surrender its registration as a core investment company.
The statement follows the Tata Sons board's approval of N Chandrasekaran's reappointment as Executive Chairman for a further five-year term, a decision the Trusts have separately called a "legal nullity" under the company's Articles of Association.
Tata Trusts, led by the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and Sir Ratan Tata Trust, together hold around 66 per cent of Tata Sons and would need to sign off on any listing decision as majority shareholders.
(With inputs from agencies)
