Tata Trusts postpone board meet to May 16

MUMBAI: A day after Bombay high court cleared the way for the board meetings to proceed, the Sir Ratan Tata Trust and the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust postponed them to May 16. A key agenda was to review nominee directors for Tata Sons, in which the two trusts hold a controlling 52% stake.Among the trustees, chairman Noel Tata and vice-chairman Venu Srinivasan serve as nominee directors on the Tata Sons board. The two are at odds over a potential public listing of the company, with Srinivasan in favour and Noel opposed.Srinivasan and Vijay Singh had logged in virtually for the 9am meeting, while Jehangir Jehangir and Bhaskar Bhat had travelled to attend —the former from Pune the previous day, the latter flying in specifically for the meeting.They were informed at the eleventh hour that the meetings had been postponed. A communique from the Tata Trusts chief executive announced the new date. The two trusts typically hold separate meetings but had planned a joint session on this occasion.Corporate lawyer Swapnil Kothari blamed the development on “rival factions” divided on crucial decisions like the public listing of Tata Sons and the reappointment of company chairman N Chandrasekaran. At the Tata Sons board meeting held in Feb, Chandrasekaran’s reappointment for a third term was deferred. Srinivasan supported his continuation while Noel raised objections.