Shares of several Tata Group companies jumped on Tuesday on renewed expectations that Tata Sons could eventually be listed, after India’s central bank rejected the holding company’s application to deregister as a non-bank lender.
A potential listing of Tata Sons, the holding company of 31 group companies, could unlock value and boost valuations for listed Tata companies, particularly those with stakes in the unlisted parent. Tata Chemicals, Tata Motors and Tata Investment are among the companies that own stakes in Tata Sons.
The Reserve Bank of India pre-emptively approached the courts seeking to be heard in any matter filed related to the potential listing, Reuters reported, citing a source directly familiar with the matter.
Disagreements between Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran and Tata Trusts, which owns 66% of the holding company, included a potential listing of Tata Sons, losses at Air India and the planned exit of a minority shareholder.
Last month, Tata Sons said Chandrasekaran would not seek reappointment, adding to uncertainty around the group’s future leadership.
Shares of Tata Chemicals TTCH.NS jumped as much as 20% on Tuesday, while Tata Motors Passenger Vehicles TAMO.NS was up about 4%. Shares of Tata Investment TINV.NS advanced 11.5%.
Tata Chemicals, trading at its highest level in roughly 2-1/2 months, holds around 2.5% in Tata Sons, according to ICICI Securities.
The brokerage estimates the stake is worth 100 billion rupees to 150 billion rupees ($1.04 billion to $1.56 billion), close to Tata Chemicals’ current market capitalisation, underscoring the potential for significant value unlocking.
ICICI Securities, however, said it expects a “prolonged legal battle”, though the stock could remain in positive territory in the near term.
PRIVATELY HELD
The more than a century-old holding company, which had standalone assets totalling 1.75 trillion rupees as of March 2025, has sought to remain privately held.
Tata Sons is classified as a core investment company and is subject to RBI rules for non-bank lenders that require companies with assets exceeding 1 trillion rupees, or those with direct or indirect access to public funds, to be listed.
The company had also faced pressure from its stakeholders to go public, including the second-largest shareholder, Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
Two Tata trustees have supported the listing of Tata Sons in media interviews, arguing that expansion into new areas such as semiconductors will require large amounts of capital that cannot be generated internally.
($1 = 95.8600 Indian rupees)
Reuters
