RBI rejects Tata Sons' bid to stay private, directs listing

JUST IN: India's central bank rejects Tata Sons' bid to stay private, pushing the $100bn+ holding company of the Tata Group towards a public listing.

India's central bank just told Tata Sons it doesn't get to hide anymore.

The Reserve Bank of India has rejected the company's bid to stay private and is directing it towards a public listing. This is the holding company at the top of the entire Tata empire, worth north of a hundred billion dollars, the crown that sits above everything from Tata Motors to TCS. It's here, at Bombay House in Mumbai, that they've fought for years to keep the doors closed to public shareholders.

And the RBI, from its headquarters, has now said no. Rules are rules, big non-bank lenders list, and Tata Sons qualifies whether it likes the label or not.

If this listing actually happens, it would be one of the largest IPOs India has ever seen, and one nobody at the top of the Tata Group ever wanted. The regulator just made India's most private giant a public matter.

This is Sara White, reporting for HIT.