The Supreme Court has given US-based businessman Danny Gaekwad time till 2 pm on Thursday to deposit ₹600 crore in an escrow account for authenticating his counter-offer for Religare Enterprises.
Without getting into the “merits” of the allegations made, the Apex Court directed RBI to facilitate the transaction.
Gaekwad made an urgent application to the Supreme Court, claiming he had applied to the RBI with proof of funds amounting to $90 million.
As per the Court’s oral verdict, its order on February 7 will continue to apply except for the modification made with respect to the timeline of the deposit.
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A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna had previously ordered Gaekwad to deposit the amount by February 12, warning that non-compliance could lead to the automatic vacation of interim relief and potential costs for obstructing the regulatory process.
However, in today’s hearing, Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Gaekwad, sought additional time, citing procedural delays and hurdles with RBI approval.
Earlier, minority shareholder Sapna Rao of Religare Enterprises and Danny Gaekwad filed two separate Special Leave Petitions against SEBI. Gaekwad had made a counter open offer to acquire stake in Religare Enterprises at ₹275 per share against the Burman family’s ₹235 per share offer.
Rao contends that Gaekwad’s offer ensures better price discovery and protects public shareholders, while SEBI and the Burman family argue that his bid is a deliberate attempt to delay the process.
The Supreme Court has instructed SEBI to expeditiously determine two critical aspects including the correct date for the detailed public statement of the Burman open offer (whether it is October 3, 2023, or January 18, 2025) and whether Gaekwad’s exemption application under the SEBI Takeover Code should be granted.
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