SP Group weight behind board as Tata Sons rift widens

New Delhi: Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the second-largest shareholder in Tata Sons, on Friday backed the public listing of the holding company of the Tata Group, adding weight to the board’s push despite opposition from Tata Trusts.

Shapoor Mistry, chairman of the SP Group, which owns about 18.4 per cent of Tata Sons, said listing would strengthen transparency and public accountability at the holding company of the salt-to-software conglomerate.

Mistry described the listing as “not merely a financial or regulatory matter” but a “social and moral imperative”, saying it could strengthen governance while preserving the philanthropic role of Tata Trusts.

The Tata Sons board has favoured moving ahead with a listing after the Reserve Bank of India rejected the company’s application to surrender its registration as an upper-layer non-banking financial company (NBFC). Tata Trusts, which collectively hold about 66 per cent of Tata Sons, have opposed the move.

The Trusts have instead proposed providing liquidity of at least `25,000 crore to the SP Group as an alternative to listing.

Mistry welcomed the RBI decision and said Tata Sons should now move towards compliance with regulations governing upper-layer NBFCs.

“I welcome the decision wholeheartedly,” he said.

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

Tata Sons was classified as an upper-layer NBFC in 2022, making it subject to enhanced regulatory requirements, including stock-market listing. It did not list by the original September 2025 deadline and instead pursued deregistration.

Mistry said listing could “strengthen transparency and public accountability”, broaden investor participation and improve visibility into Tata Sons’ value.

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