First CEO of TCS FC Kohli denies ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry's sell claim

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: FC Kohli, former CEO and deputy chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Wednesday denied allegations by ousted chairman Cyrus Mistry that Tata Group planned to sell the IT firm to IBM.

"Mistry's comments regarding the sale of TCS to IBM at some 'unspecified point in time' are not correct," said Kohli, widely considered as father of Indian IT industry.

In a statement, Kohli said he “was actively involved in the decision to bring IBM to India.”

“A JV for hardware manufacturing and support in India, Tata IBM, was set up in 1991-92. This JV was undertaken to promote a computer hardware industry in India which was non-existent at that time,” he states further.

“I would like to reiterate that at no point at that time was there ever an intention of the Tata Group to sell TCS to IBM, " Kohli affirmed in the statement.

Hitting back at Tatas, ousted Chairman Cyrus Mistry on Tuesday alleged that patriarch Ratan Tata once tried to sell the IT firm to IBM and his "ego" led to bad business decisions like Corus acquisition at double the original cost.

Mistry further claimed in the letter that the then chief FC Kohli's illness had prevented JRD Tata from going ahead with Ratan Tata's proposal.

Clarifying his position, Kohli said "with reference to the timeline of the entire episode I would also like to point out that my “heart by-pass surgery” took place in 1984. Mr JRD Tata was interested in my health and progress after the surgery and he established contact with my surgeon at Houston. He also wanted to know when I would be well enough to return to India. He wanted to discuss Burroughs proposal for software work in India under Tata Burroughs, which might affect TCS’ business.”