GHCL director fails to get enough votes to be reappointed

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

GHCL's proposal for the reappointment of promoter and non-executive chairman Sanjay Dalmia to the board failed to get enough votes at its annual general meeting held on Saturday. As much as 67.73% of the shareholders at the AGM voted in favour of the special resolution, while 32.27% voted against. «The resolution was defeated as it needed to be supported by 75% of the total voting,» the company said in a regulatory filing on Saturday.

All the promoters and 75% of the institutional investors voted in favour of Dalmia's reappointment, but about 90% of the non-institutional public investors voted against it. Promoters owned 19.05% of the company, while institutional and non-institutional public shareholders held 35.88% and 45.07%, respectively. DSP Small Cap Fund is the biggest public shareholder with a 6.16% stake.

Ares Diversified and Eos Multi-Strategy Fund hold 4.9% and 3.08% stake, respectively. Under amendments to the market regulator's listing obligations and disclosure regulations, companies must get the approval of shareholders through a special resolution for the appointment of directors who have attained the age of 75 years. Dalmia, 79, retires by rotation.

GHCL said the company would respect and abide by the decision of its shareholders. «In the last board meeting, which was held on April 29, 2023, he (Dalmia) had expressed his desire to retire from the board due to his age and pursue his philanthropic interests but was compelled to accept the proposal of his reappointment due to the insistence of the board members,» the company said in response to ET's questions. Mumbai-based proxy advisory firm Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IiAS), while recommending investors to vote against the re-appointment of