The proposed merger of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited with Sony’s India operations (through its entity Culver Max Entertainment Private Limited) has attracted considerable attention. This is essentially due to some governance and financial circumstances surrounding the Zee group. Zee Entertainment was the subject matter of shareholder activism spearheaded by an institutional investor...
Stricter Framework for Sale, Lease or Disposal of Undertaking by a Listed Entity
[Nitu Poddar is a Partner at Vinod Kothari and Company, and can be reached at [email protected]] Disposal of an undertaking (whole or substantially the whole) can be carried out either as part of a scheme of arrangement or otherwise by way of slump sale or business transfer agreement (‘BTA’). Disposal, other than by way of scheme of arrangement, has so far been regulated according to...
The Remedy for a Corporate Break-Up: A Framework for Cross-Border Demergers in India
[Ishika Garg is a 4th year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at the NALSAR University of Law] Navigating the legalities associated with cross-border demergers (‘CBDs’) has always been a tricky task. The Indian position on this subject has been especially muddled, with a lack of sufficient clarity from both the legal enactments and judicial forums. A post on this Blog has previously noted how the...
Cross-Border Merger Framework in India: Limited Efficacy?
[Rajat Sethi (Partner), Sumit Bansal (Partner) and Oshika Nayak (Associate) are at S&R Associates] The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (“MCA”) notified section 234 of the Companies Act, 2013, as amended (the “Companies Act”), and rule 25A of the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016, as amended (the “Companies Merger Rules”), on April 13, 2017, to permit merger and...
Proposed Merger Control Amendments: Questions and Potential Consequences
[Avinash Kotval and Ishaan Saraswat are penultimate year students at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat] The Government of India, through the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (“2022 Bill”), proposed to bring about multiple changes to Indian competition law. One of the most pertinent changes is the introduction of a new thresholdfor the notification of any combination to the Competition...
The Need for an Ex -Post Assessment Framework to Tackle Killer Acquisitions in India
[Vishnu Bandarupalli is a third-year BA. LLB (Hons.) student at NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] Zomato’s acquisition of Uber Eats, Ola Cabs’ acquisition of TaxiForSure, Myntra’s acquisition of Jabong.com and, more recently, the merger of PVR and Inox—what is common between these corporate deals? They have arguably resulted in the consolidation of market power without triggering an antitrust...
Navigating an Alternative Route for Hostile Raiders
[Chandragupt is a 5th year B.A.,LL.B.(Hons.) student and Varnika Pasricha is a 5th year B.B.A.,LL.B.(Hons.) student, both at the Jindal Global Law School] The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations 2011 [“SAST Regulations”] envisage two types of offers – mandatory open offers and voluntary open offers. While mandatory open offers are...
Hostile Takeover Cannot be a Defence to CCI Notification Requirements
[Mohsin Rahim is a 5th Year B.B.A. L.L.B. (Hons.) Student at Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana] On May 17, 2022, the Competition Commission of India (“CCI”) passed an order imposing a penalty of INR 1 crore on Veolia Environment S.A. under section 43A of the Competition Act 2002 (“Act”) for violating section 6(2) and section 6(2A) of the Act, as Veolia...
Should India Allow Fractional Share Investing?
[Ajith Kidambi is a V year student at the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad] Fractional share investing could finally be a reality in the Indian stock market. The Company Law Committee, which the Ministry of Corporate Affairs constituted in 2019, had released its third report in April 2022, making several recommendations to the government to improve the ease of doing business in India and...
SEBI’s Takeover Amendment: Hit-and-Miss on Delisting
[Aryan Puri is a 4th-year BBA., LL.B. (Hons.) student at MIT-World Peace University, Faculty of Law, Pune, and Priya Maharishi is a 5th-year B.A., LL.B. (Hons.) student at Jindal Global Law School, Sonipat] On December 6, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) amended the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeover) Regulation, 2011 (“Takeover Regulations”) to simplify...
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