Tata Sons IPO: Who holds the shares & who the cards

Tata Sons' board has approved a five-year extension for executive chairman N Chandrasekaran and measures to comply with RBI regulations that could lead to a public listing of the company. This decision has reignited a dispute between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts, with the latter owning about 66% of the company. The Trusts have challenged Chandrasekaran's reappointment and oppose a potential listing, while the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, the second-largest shareholder, supports taking Tata Sons public.

Tata Trusts collectively hold about 66% of Tata Sons, followed by the Shapoorji Pallonji Group with 18.4%, Tata Group companies 12.86%, and individual and other shareholders 2.87%. The Trusts' stake is spread across several entities, with the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust holding 27.98% and the Sir Ratan Tata Trust owning 23.56%. The board currently consists of six directors, with Chandrasekaran, Noel Tata, Venu Srinivasan, Saurabh Agrawal, Harish Manwani, and Anita Marangoly George.

Noel Tata and Venu Srinivasan represent Tata Trusts, while Agrawal, Manwani, and George also endorsed the extension. The Reserve Bank of India recently rejected Tata Sons' request to deregister from being a Core Investment Company, keeping the company under regulatory requirements and potentially paving the way for a listing.