Mumbai: Ratan Tata is no more in this world. In his place, Noel Tata has now become the Chairman of Tata Trust. He is the son-in-law of Pallonji. This is the reason why now speculations have started again regarding the IPO of Tata Sons. People associated with the matter have started talking that maybe the IPO of Tata Sons will come soon. The Reserve Bank (RBI) has given time till September 2025 for its listing.
SP Group wants listing
The holding company of Tata Group is Tata Sons. Shapoorji Pallonji Group (SP Group) has 18.5 percent stake in it. SP Group wants Tata Sons to be listed as soon as possible so that the fair value of their company’s shares can be known. Along with this, she can repay her loan by selling some shares. It has been reported in the media that SP Group had also raised this issue in the annual meeting of shareholders of Tata Sons held on September 16. In fact, Tata is India’s most valuable brand, which was valued at $28.6 billion in June this year.
What does the Reserve Bank say?
The Reserve Bank has classified Tata Sons in the Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) upper layer. Such companies have got time till September 2025 for listing. However, after repaying its entire loan of Rs 21,813 crore in the year 2023-24 itself, the company has applied to Reserve Bank of India to declassify it from the NBFC upper layer. By doing this the company will remain an unregistered Core Investment Company (CIC). Then he will not be forced to list. The Reserve Bank has not yet taken a decision on this application.
Now the situation has changed
After the death of Ratan Tata, there has been a change in the situation of Tata Trust. Now Noel Tata, who holds more than 65 percent stake in Tata Sons, has become the chairman of Tata Trust. Noel is the son-in-law of Tata Pallonji. Therefore, it is believed that Noel Tata can make changes in the previous policies. However, only time will tell which side the camel will sit on, but speculations continue about Tata Sons’ IPO.
Case of conflict of interest also exposed
Meanwhile, Tata Sons may face allegations of conflict of interest. Actually, Venu Srinivasan has been on the board of Tata Sons since 2016. The government also made him a member of the RBI board in the year 2022. Analysts say that when Venu Srinivasan is on the board of both RBI and Tata, then it is a serious matter which directly shows conflict of interest. They say Srinivasan’s position on the RBI board gives rise to ethical concerns because of his association with the Tata Trusts. Tata Trust has significant influence over Tata Sons.
What circular has RBI issued?
The Reserve Bank had issued a circular on October 22, 2021. According to this, some NBFCs have to be listed in the stock exchanges. In this, especially for the companies classified in the upper layer of the SBR structure, there is time till September 2025. On September 14, 2023, RBI released the names of 15 NBFCs placed in the upper layer, including Tata Sons. Most of these companies have been listed. But the process for listing of Tata Sons has not started yet.