ArchiveMarch 2008

Inadequacies of the FII Regime

One of our guest contributors, Somasekhar Sundaresan, has a well-argued column in the Business Standard in which he calls for an overhaul of the regulations that govern foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in India. Here it is: The regulatory regime for foreign institutional investors (FIIs) is the Indian capital market’s window to the outside world which often gives the first impression of how...

Tata-JLR Acquisition: The Legal Team

Legal Week has a news report on the law firms that advised on the transaction. They are Hogan & Hartson (for Ford), Herbert Smith (for Tatas) and Allen & Overy (for the consortium of banks). The report, however, does not mention about the involvement of any law firms on the Indian side. (In case you are unable to access the hyperlink above, please try copying the following and pasting on...

Fairness Opinions: Art or Science?

It has been said that valuation of a company is more of an art than a science. This has manifested again in the Bear Stearns transaction that is currently hogging limelight among legal circles. In this case, Lazard issued a fairness opinion when JP Morgan’s transaction with Bear Stearns was first announced that a stock consideration of $2 per share was fair to Bear’s shareholders. Now, under the...

Price Manipulation in Stocks: Evidentiary Problems

SEBI last week passed an order in relation to an investigation involving the promoters of Zee Telefilms Limited. This was under the SEBI (Prohibition of Fraudulent and Unfair Trade Practices Relating to Securities Markets) Regulations, 1995 (the SEBI (PFUTP) Regulations). SEBI alleged that the promoters of Zee Telefilms Limited (now Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited) provided funds to the...

Pay Commission Recommendation for Regulatory Bodies Laudable

The Sixth Pay Commission Report has hogged headlines. An interesting and important recommendation that will help the administration of corporate law is the recommendation on payscales for full-time members of regulatory bodies set up under Acts of the Parliament of India. The Commission has recommended that Chairmen of bodies such as the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Central...

Bear Stearns: Some Legal Complications

JP Morgan Chase yesterday increased its bid for Bear Stearns to $10 per share from its previous bid of $2, fearing a refusal by shareholders to approve its takeover of the beleaguered broking entity. Several large shareholders of Bear Stearns had expressed disappointment at the initial offer price put out by JP Morgan Chase. As the takeover battle progresses, some complications seems to have...

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies: On the Rise

Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) that are also known as “blank check companies” are gradually acquiring prominence in the Indian markets. It is worth briefly examining these entities and their advantages as well as the risks surrounding them. SPACs are essentially shell entities with no business operations, and which raise funds from the public through an initial public offering...

Impact of Global Crisis on the Indian Economy

It could have been worse. That is the message emanating from leading commentators on the Indian economy. This is attributable to the Reserve Bank of India’s conservative policies that have largely staved off a deeper crisis within the country. Today’s Business Standard carries a column by its editor T.N. Ninan, where he argues: “For years, the wunderkinds of the financial world have railed at the...

Indian Corporate Law: Now on Television

No! It is not this blog that is on television – but the subject-matter of the blog.
CNBC-TV18 has launched a series titled “THE FIRM – Corporate Law in India”. The series is expected to deal with issues such as hostile takeovers and defences, corporate governance and other issues pertaining to Indian corporate law. It debuts with the first episode TODAY.

Derivatives – a constructive critique

In what i thought could come in as an observation to an earlier post by Kartik – see below – turned out slightly differently. so here goes: In considering law governing derivatives in India, couple or more items are noteworthy: Firstly, a very significant development in the Indian legal regime governing derivatives was the amendment in 2006 to the RBI Act, 1934. It introduced a new...

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