Founding-family patriarch Noel Tata said a public listing could constrain Tata Sons Pvt.’s ability to support group firms in trouble, making his case in a rare public interview nearly two weeks after a boardroom fight erupted at one of India’s largest conglomerates. Tata Sons has been a backstop whenever a group entity has gotten into trouble, and banks, lending agencies, shareholders and suppliers have “always taken comfort from the fact,” Noel, head of the charities that own 66% of Tata Sons, told India’s Republic TV.

“Now the worry is when you have individual shareholders, would they agree to it and would they be willing to allow us to invest” in firms going through a difficult patch, he said. “These are things which we believe will change the fundamental fabric of the way this group has run over the last 150 years.” Noel was outvoted by the Tata Sons board in a stormy meeting on Sept. 17 to pursue listing and reappoint Natarajan Chandrasekaran as chairman for another five years.

On Monday, Tata Trusts proposed that the holding company merge with two unlisted units to stave off a listing order. The proposal would restore Tata Sons to a structure with “operating and financial” businesses in the same firm. It still needs the approval of Tata Sons board and India’s central bank. A listing would also change the philanthropic mandate of Tata Sons, Noel said. “I hope the RBI will engage with us on this subject and we should be able to find some common ground.”