New Delhi: Amid a boardroom conflict within the reputed Tata Group, top officials of the multinational group met senior Union ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday evening, PTI reported citing sources.
Tata Trusts Chairman Noel Tata and Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, along with Tata Trusts Vice-Chairman Venu Srinivasan and trustee Darius Khambata, arrived at Home minister Shah’s residence for the meeting. Finance minister Sitharaman joined later.
There have been reports of infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts over board appointments and governance issues, necessitating the high-profile meetings.
“The primary question for the government, considering how significant and important the Tata Group is to the country’s economy, is whether it can let an individual take control of it. The infighting among trustees of Tata Trusts has an impact on Tata Sons,” PTI quoted a source as saying.
Tata Trusts is reported to be vertically split. One section is aligned with Noel Tata, and the other group of four trustees is led by Mehli Mistry, who has ties with the extended Shapoorji Pallonji family, which owns about 18.37% of Tata Sons. Mehli reportedly feels he has been kept out of the loop on key matters, according to PTI.
The conflict is over board seats at Tata Sons, which controls the 156-year-old group that consists of around 400 companies, including 30 listed firms. Tata Trusts exerts decisive influence over the $180-billion conglomerate due to its nearly 66% stake in Tata Sons Pvt. Ltd.
Tata Trusts, Tata Sons and Srinivasan declined to comment on the matter, while calls and messages to Mehli Mistry were unanswered.
