Ruchi Soya FPO: Sebi shouldn’t have given choice to institutional investors, HNIs to withdraw, says JN Gupta

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26 Aug, 2025 12:21

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While the market regulator has given choice to everybody, other than anchor investors to withdraw from the Ruchi Soya FPO, JN Gupta, Founder, Stakeholders Empowerment Services, and a former executive director of Sebi feels that institutional investors and HNIs shouldn’t have been given the choice. “I think institutional investors and HNIs would not be acting on the basis of an SMS. It is only the gullible retail investor and maybe some employees who are under pressure have done it,” he said in an interaction with CNBC-TV18 on March 29.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on March 28 provided an option to the investors in Ruchi Soya's Rs 4,300 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) to withdraw their applications following the circulation of unsolicited SMS, advertising the issue.  The messages, that were allegedly sent to Patanjali Ayurved users, recommended them to invest in the offer.

According to the unsolicited message that has been circulated, the issue was available in the price band- Rs 615-650 rupees per share , i.e discount of about 30% to market price. However, Gupta feels that Ruchi Soya price is not fairly discovered because of the low float.

Also Read: Ruchi Soya files FIR against circulation of unsolicited messages advertising company's FPO

The three-day window to withdraw will remain open till March 30, however, Gupta opines that the three-day window should have remained open from 29 to 31 March. “It should have been 29, 30 and 31 March, because on 28, there was no information in the market or no information to the shareholders who have applied that they can withdraw,” he added.

On the other hand, Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder Zerodha & True Beacon feels that the multiple seems to be relatively cheaper for Ruchi Soya compared to its peers. “Cracking down on SMS creating wrong information is a step in the right direction… A comparison to similar peer companies like Adani Wilmar etc., multiples seem to be comparatively cheaper outside of how little free float is there or what the market price is… Generally, Sebi acts well in these cases and they seem to do the right thing and we have to abide by that.