(This is a continuation of a post contributed by Avirup Bose) In an earlier post I discussed the importance of understanding the concept of ‘control’ while analyzing the probable anti-competitive effects of a merger especially in a partial stock ownership context. The discussion was in the background of an order of the CCI dated May 17, 2012, which basically held that if a company has a...
The Concept of Control under the Indian Competition Act: an analysis (Part I)
(The following post is contributed by Avirup Bose, who holds law degrees from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences and the Harvard Law School and is qualified to practice law in India and the U.S. Avirup has worked in the New York office of Weil Gotshal & Manges and in the New Delhi office of S&R Associates. He has also briefly worked at the Mumbai office of Trilegal...
Convertible Instruments and “Control” Under the Competition Act
Earlier this week, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) passed an order involving a transaction between the Reliance Industries group and the TV18 group of companies. What otherwise appears to be a complex transaction can be described in a nutshell as follows. About 40% shares of Network18 and (indirectly) TV18, both of which are listed companies, are held by Mr. Raghav Bahl and his...
SEBI Tightens Consent Order Norms
In 2007, SEBI issued a Circular containing guidelines for consent orders and composition of offences on matters involving violations of securities laws. This was also accompanied by a detailed set of FAQs. Since then, SEBI has issued several consent orders, including in some high profile cases. Due to criticism that the consent order mechanism was operated in an ad hoc manner and lacked...
SEBI Notifies Regulations on Alternative Investment Funds
Last year, SEBI had issued a concept paper on comprehensive regulation for alternative investment funds (AIFs). The proposal to set up a separate framework was approved by SEBI at its board meeting held last month. This proposal has now been operationalised by the promulgation of the SEBI (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012, which were notified yesterday. These new regulations are...
Black Money: Corporate Entities and Securities Markets
The Government yesterday tabled its White Paper on Black Money in Parliament. Billed as the first document to comprehensively tackle the issue, it cites various studies and is replete with data. However, it has already been subjected to criticism from various quarters owing to the lack of details and clarity in solutions to deal with the issue. This post, however, briefly touches upon the role of...
The Changing Nature of Public Listed Companies
During the week that the Facebook IPO has captured the attention of market observers, the Economist has carried a couple of pieces (here and here) that raise questions regarding the interest and viability of public listed companies with diffused shareholding (epitomized by the Berle and Means corporation). The statistics shown by the Economist are quite stark: The number of public companies has...
JP Morgan’s Trading Losses: Regulation and Governance
There has been a great deal of debate surrounding JP Morgan’s hedging losses announced last week. There is some mystery surrounding the nature of the transactions involved, without full clarity yet on the amount of losses. Andrew Ross Sorkin has a brief explanation of the episode in the New York Times: … Here’s an overly simplistic primer, but you’ll probably get the idea: The company’s...
Impact of SEBI Order on Governance of Exchanges
The concept of demutualization of stock exchanges has given rise to some questions regarding the governance of demutualized exchanges. That concept requires exchanges to separate ownership and governance from that of its trading members. Some issues pertaining to demutualization have come up before SEBI in its investigation into the affairs of the United Stock Exchange of India Limited (USE)...
Paper on CSR in India
While the Companies Bill, 2011 is still pending in Parliament, the provision on corporate social responsibility (CSR) spending continues to be one of the contentious issues. It is not clear what form that provision will take during the next round of the lawmaking process. The oddity of the CSR proposal in the Indian context is its mandatory nature, which has been somewhat diluted in the 2011 Bill...
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