Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran has resigned, but will complete his current term at the principal holding company of India’s $400-billion Tata Group, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The source declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the issue. Chandrasekaran’s term is due to run until February. Tata Sons controls more than 30 companies in the conglomerate, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Motors and Air India, but is in turn 66 per cent owned by Tata Trusts, the group’s charitable arm.
In February, Tata Sons postponed a decision on reappointing Chandrasekaran as chairman after Noel Tata, chairman of Tata Trusts, opposed the move. Noel Tata was seeking several conditions, including a commitment that Tata Sons would never be listed, a commitment that Chandrasekaran was unwilling to give, a source said.
The two sides have also clashed over board representation. Tata Sons did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chandrasekaran could not be reached either.
Chandrasekaran joined the Tata group in 1987, became the TCS CEO in 2009 before taking over as as Tata Sons chairman in 2017.
Over the past year, the Tata conglomerate has grappled with regulatory scrutiny of Air India following a fatal crash, pricing pressure at TCS and a cyberattack at Jaguar Land Rover that disrupted production and weighed on Britain’s economic output.
Feuds between Tata Sons and Tata Trusts have roiled the storied Indian conglomerate before, most famously in 2016 when the Tata Sons board sacked then-chairman Cyrus Mistry after he fell out with group patriarch Ratan Tata over corporate governance issues, triggering a bitter legal battle that lasted several years.
Tata Group stocks fall; TCS tumbles 6 per cent
Tata Group stocks fell on Wednesday with TCS dropping nearly 6 per cent after Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said he will not seek reappointment when his current term ends on February 20, 2027.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services tanked 5.70 per cent, Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles tumbled 4.11 per cent, Tata Consumer Products fell by 2.85 per cent, Tata Elxsi dipped 2.14 per cent, Tata Communications edged lower by 2 per cent, Tata Steel slipped 1.96 per cent and Titan skidded 1.66 per cent on the BSE. Also, Tata Power declined 1.40 per cent, Indian Hotels Company went lower by 1.32 per cent and Trent skidded 0.89 per cent on the BSE.
In the equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex dropped 604.65 points to 77,544.63 during noon trade. The 50-share NSE Nifty declined 192.05 points to 24,276.
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