Tata Sons Board Meeting Highlights Rising Friction and Financial Challenges

The Tata Sons board meeting ended amid growing concerns over financial losses and internal friction. Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, is reportedly uneasy about losses particularly in new ventures and Air India. Discussions on reappointment of N Chandrasekaran as chairman were deferred.

A board meeting of Tata Sons, the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate, concluded on Tuesday.

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.

N 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.

A discussion on Chandrasekaran's reappointment was unlikely at the board meeting, which comes amid rising frictions within the Tata group.

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 the helm of 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.