The Tata Sons board has approved the company’s listing and a five-year extension for chairman N Chandrasekaran, according to people familiar with the development. The decision came after a board meeting that lasted around three hours on Thursday amid tensions within the Tata group.

The move follows a September 11 decision by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which rejected Tata Sons’ request to surrender its core investment company registration and directed the group holding company to proceed with a listing.

Tata Sons was classified as an upper-layer non-banking financial company by the RBI in September 2022, triggering a requirement to list within three years. The company later repaid its debt and sought to remain privately held.

The listing has been a point of disagreement among major shareholders. Tata Trusts, which holds about 66% of Tata Sons, has opposed an IPO, while the Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which owns around 18.4%, has supported a listing to improve liquidity and unlock value.

Chandrasekaran has led Tata Sons since February 2017. His current term is scheduled to end in February 2027. Tata Trusts had supported another term in 2025, but the proposal faced resistance before Chandrasekaran said in August that he would not seek another term.