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Religare takeover intensifies: Florida investor Danny Gaekwad makes competing bid

Religare takeover intensifies: Florida investor Danny Gaekwad makes competing bid


In a fresh twist to the ongoing Religare Enterprises’ (REL) takeover saga,  a Florida based businessman Danny Gaekwad has expressed willingness to make a competing offer in cash for REL at ₹275 per share. This is against ₹235 apiece offered by the Burman Family entities of the Dabur Group in the Open Offer slated to open on Monday.

Investor Digvijay Laxhamsingh Gaekwad has expressed his intent to launch a competing offer in a letter to the SEBI Chairperson dated January 24, according to stock exchange filing by REL on late Friday night. 

Burman Family Acquirer entities (four of them)  had already acquired around 25 per cent stake from the market and is now the single largest shareholder in REL. 

In the letter to SEBI Chairperson, Gaekwad has said that Danny Gaekwad Developments & Investments Florida was willing to acquire 26 per cent of the outstanding share capital of REL. through an Open offer.

Gaekwad has in the letter contended that its competing offer price of ₹ 275 would provide a fair and reasonable exit opportunity to public shareholders in compliance with the letter and spirit of the SEBI Takecover Regulations.

The letter has also contended that Burmans’ Open Offer grossly undervalues the real worth of REL, is to the detriment of the public shareholders and fails to disclose how they (Burmans’) propose to comply with RBI-mandated condition on consolidation of NBFCs within Religare and Burman groups and impact thereof on REL shareholders.

At the time the offer was made on September 25,2023, the offer price was already at a discount of 15 percent in REL’s prevailing market price of about ₹ 271 per share. Even considering the closing price of REL shares on January 22,2025, the Burmans’ open offer price is a steep discount of 7 percent, the Gaekwad’s letter added.

The Gaekwad letter goes on to allege that the Burmans’ open offer is misleading in as much as it gives the incorrect impression that the RBI approval granted to them is unconditional.

“Given the absence of disclosure on consolidation plan and impact on REL shareholders, and arguably misleading statement in the letter of offer dated January 18,2025, we are unsure whether the Burman Group has a genuine intention to comply with the RBI mandated condition or not. Public shareholders of REL are therefore in the dark and do not have sufficient information to evaluate whether the Burmans’ open offer is genuine or depressed”, said the Gaekwad letter.

Market regulator SEBI had on December 20,2024 given its approval to the Burmans’ Open offer following RBI’s approval (with conditions) on December 9, 2024. 

Recently, the independent directors of Religare Enterprises had advised public shareholders to note that the offer price of ₹ 235 per share in the Burman family’s open offer to acquire additional 26 percent in financial services company is low and that they should “carefully evaluate” their options.





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