Indian tribunal dismisses petitions opposing ICICI Securities' delisting, report says (updated)

ICICI Securities

21/08/2024 11:06

(Adds comment from Manu Rishi Guptha in paragraph 6)
       BENGALURU, Aug 21 (Reuters) - An Indian company tribunal
has dismissed objections raised by minority shareholders of
ICICI Securities  ICCI.NS  regarding its delisting plans, Bar
and Bench reported on Wednesday.
    ICICI Bank  ICBK.NS , which holds a roughly 75% stake in
ICICI Securities, won shareholder approval to buy out the
remaining stake in March in a share-swap deal worth
$622 million, making the brokerage its whole-owned subsidiary
and delisting it from the exchanges.
    However, some shareholders including Quantum Mutual Fund and
investor Manu Rishi Guptha filed petitions opposing the
delisting with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
    The applications argued that the delisting would affect
minority shareholders, citing the undervaluation of ICICI
Securities' shares, according to the report.
    ICICI Securities, the NCLT and Quantum Mutual Fund did not
immediately respond to Reuters' request for comments. 
    Guptha said he would appeal the ruling, without providing
details.
    ICICI Securities argued that the petitioners lacked the
shareholding required - either 10% of equity or 5% of
outstanding debt - to press their case as per the provisions of
the Companies Act, and sought the applications' dismissal, the
Bar and Bench report said.
    Quantum and Guptha own 0.08% and 0.002% stake in ICICI
Securities, respectively, according to a report.
    Prior to the shareholder vote, ICICI Securities had received
backlash from some unhappy retail investors, with local media
reporting that ICICI Bank had attempted to sway votes in favour
of the delisting.
    ICICI Securities' shares, which have risen about 11% since
the shareholder nod, were trading down 5.2% at 1:51 p.m IST.    
 
    

 (Reporting by Manvi Pant in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane
Venkatraman and Mrigank Dhaniwala
)
 ((Manvi.Pant@thomsonreuters.com; +918447554364;))