For Danny Gaekwad, the Religare open offer may be a tough nut to crack
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A day before curtains rise on the Burman family's open offer for Religare Enterprises Ltd, Indian-American businessman Digvijay Danny Gaekwad sought to expand his counter-offer for the financial conglomerate; however, the late entry may not pass regulatory muster, said two people close to decision-making at the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and three experts in securities law. Gaekwad, who wrote to Sebi chair Madhabi Puri Buch on Friday for permission to launch an open offer for 26% in Religare on Sunday revised his offer to at least 55%.
At ₹275 a share, Gaekwad's competing offer is 17% more than the Burmans' offer of ₹235, and will involve investment of ₹5,000crore. On Friday, Religare shares closed at ₹249.35, against ₹275 a day before the Burmans first announced their open offer plan. However, according to the people cited above, Sebi is unlikely to allow Gaekwad to go ahead.
"This is first because, as per the extant takeover code of Sebi, any counteroffer is to be made within 15 days of the detailed public statement regarding an open offer by the original acquirer, or within 20 days under Section 20 of the SAST regulations under cases involving the White Knight defence provisions in the takeover," said the first person. SAST stands for Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers. Queries emailed to Sebi and Religare remained unanswered.
Calls, text messages and an email sent to Gaekwad did not elicit a response. The Burman family already holds above 25.18% in Religare, and if public shareholders fully accept the upcoming tender offer, the family's holding will total 53.94%. Gaekwad expanded his offer on Sunday, since takeover norms stipulate that any rival bid
. Read more on livemint.com
