Despite board reshuffle, Tata companies to benefit from rating uplift: Moody's

Credit rating agency Moody's Investors Service on Wednesday said ratings of four Tata Group companies -- Tata Motors, Tata Chemicals, Tata Steel and Tata Power -- will continue to benefit from an uplift from the group's main holding company Tata Sons, despite the group's ongoing board reshuffle.

"We expect that Tata Sons can continue to extend support to its key operating companies, should the need arise, owing to its substantial cash holdings and the significant value of its listed equity investments, and despite an ongoing boardroom reshuffle," Kaustubh Chaubal, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Analyst was quoted as saying in a statement.

According to the ratings agency's report titled "India's Tata Group: FAQ - Rating Uplift for Operating Companies Remains Intact", the group's four operating companies will continue to include a one notch uplift, based on Moody's assessment of support for the companies from Tata Sons, in times of need.

For Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Group's flagship subsidiary, the company's rating reflects its intrinsic credit strength, said the statement.

"In Moody's view, it is business as usual at the rated Tata companies, which are listed entities, in spite of the leadership change. Moody's says that it does not expect any change in the operating and long-term strategy of the Tata companies," the statement said.

"Nonetheless, any change in group strategy or in the strategy of the operating companies -- which in our view increases their risk appetite - could exert pressure on the Tata companies' ratings," adds Chaubal.

Moody's elaborated that a change in Tata Sons' support policy for its group companies could affect the Tata Group operating companies' ratings.

The report comes after Tata Sons replaced Cyrus Mistry as Chairman with his predecessor Ratan Tata.

The holding company of the industrial conglomerate is also seeking to remove Mistry from the boards of four rated group companies and independent director, Nusli Wadia, from the boards of three rated group companies.

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata Group companies, removed Mistry, 48, as its Chairman last month and reinstated Ratan Tata in an interim capacity.

The holding arm for the group has said that Mistry had lost the confidence of the board due to several factors and that the trustees were increasingly concerned with the growing trust deficit.

--IANS

rv/dg