[Rudresh Mandal is a 4thyear student at NALSAR University of Law and Mallika Sen is a 3rdyear student at National Law School] Section 29A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, (‘IBC’) has been heavily criticised for casting a net exceedingly wide for preventing maximisation of pay-outs to creditors merely because the bidder is the promoter of the corporate debtor, or for ignoring the...
SEBI Informal Guidance on Profit Sharing Arrangements
Last year, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (“SEBI”) clamped down on upside sharing arrangements between promoters or senior management of listed companies on the one hand and private equity investors on the other. Accordingly, the securities regulator amended the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 (the “LODR Regulations”) to introduce regulation...
SEBI Order Denying Inter-se Promoter Transfer Exemption
[Guest post by Shashank Prabhakar, who is a lawyer with Finsec Law Advisors] The Whole Time Member of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) recently passed an order relating to an application under Regulation 11(5) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (the Takeover Regulations) for exemption from making an open offer under Regulation 3(2)...
The Tata Episode: Corporate Governance and the Continuing Influence of Promoters
It is generally understood that corporate governance norms ought to address agency problems between various actors in a company. Moreover, in companies with concentrated shareholding, the agency problems between controlling shareholders (referred to in India as “promoters”) and minority shareholders tend to be rampant, and hence corporate governance measures need to be targeted to address that...
Change in Shareholding of Individual Promoter Triggers Takeover Code
[The following guest post is contributed by Supreme Waskar, who is a corporate lawyer] In its interpretative letter dated March 01, 2016 under the SEBI (Informal Guidance) Scheme, 2003, in the matter of Capital Trust Limited (“CTL”), SEBI clarified the provisions of regulation 3(3) of the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers), Regulations, 2011 (“Takeover Code”). Facts...
Analysis of the New SEBI Promoter Re-classification Norms
[The following guest post is contributed by Shashank Prabhakar, a Senior Associate with Finsec Law Advisors. These are the author’s personal views] Shareholders in a listed company are classified under two broad categories, i.e., those that belong to the promoter / promoter group and those shareholders who are members of the public with no familial or formal business ties with the promoter /...
Voting Agreements and Takeover Regulations
Earlier this week, SEBI issued an informal guidance based on a request by the promoters of Cipla Limited on the implications of voting agreements under the SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 (the “Takeover Regulations”). Background; Facts The brief facts are that Dr. Y.K. Hamied and his family members control a significant stake in Cipla. Historically, all...
Year-End Reforms from SEBI
We wish our readers a very happy 2015! The end of 2014 was marked by a flurry of announcements from SEBI, some of which are briefly discussed in this post. Re-Classification of Promoters as Public The concept of “promoters” is quite significant in the Indian context as it is relevant for various purposes. While the existing SEBI regulations define a “promoter”, the circumstances are not entirely...
Guest Post: Regulations by SEBI under the Companies Act, 2013 for Promoter Acquisitions
[The following post is contributed by Yogesh Chande, who is a Consultant with Economic Laws Practice, Advocates & Solicitors. Views of the author are personal] In terms of section 13(8) of the Companies Act, 2013 (Act), a company, which has raised money from public through prospectus and has any unutilised amount out of the money so raised, is not permitted to change its objects for which it...
Takeover and Compliance with Minimum Public Shareholding
A recent informal guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India deals with the questions pertaining to the intersection of the SEBI Takeover Regulations of 2011 and the process of complying with the minimum public shareholding in listed companies. In the case involving R Systems International Limited, the acquirer made an open offer and acquired certain shares of the target...
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