Tarun Sharma Moneycontrol News
Capital markets regulator SEBI may start an investigation into the steep fall in Infibeam Avenues stock on September 28. The stock fell 70 percent after a WhatsApp message alleged the company gave interest-free and unsecured loans to a subsidiary with a repayment tenure of over eight years.
“A false WhatsApp message may have created panic in the market, in turn triggering the fall in stock price. SEBI may start an investigation to find out the truth,” a source privy to the developments at the regulator told Moneycontrol.
The WhatsApp message, allegedly attributed to brokerage Equirus Securities, raised questions on Infibeam’s accounting policies and corporate governance. The message also suggested that the co-founder continued to be a large investor in the company as non-promoter.
Infibeam Avenues, the operator of e-commerce firm Infibeam and the parent of payment gateway company CCAvenue, saw more than Rs 9,000 crore getting wiped out from its market capitalisation in a single session on September 28. Its market capitalisation fell from Rs 13,105 crore recorded on September 27 to Rs 3,900 crore on September 28.
Hours after the stock fell 70 percent, the Infibeam management clarified that the fundamentals of the company remain intact and there is no information pending from its side. It said there has been no change in the promoters list disclosed in the offer document for its initial public offering.
Equirus Securities, too, in a separate note said it had only released a conference note and didn’t circulate any message on instant messaging platforms.
The SEBI investigation, if it takes place, will likely face hurdles due to WhatsApp’s privacy policy. "SEBI may face difficulty in finding the source of the message. WhatsApp had earlier denied information in WhatsApp leak case. The regulator may, however, be able to dig out information on large sellers of the stock," another source said.
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