SC gives US businessman Danny Gaekwad time till tomorrow to deposit Rs 600 cr in Religare matter

Religare matter will be heard by the Supreme Court again on Thusday.

The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday has allowed US-based businessman Danny Gaekwad to deposit the Rs 600 crore by tomorrow 2 PM as proof of funds for Religare acquisition. The court had originally asked Gaekwad to deposit the money by Wednesday, however Gaekwad’s attorney Mukul Rohatgi prayed to the court that the depositing of the amount was taking longer due to procedural delays in remitting the money into the country, thus prompting the court to give an extension.

Gaekwad had made a Rs 5,000-crore competing offer for Religare acquisition. The Burman family, which controls Dabur, has already made an open offer to the investors of Religare for a takeover. While the open offer price declared by the Burman family was at Rs 235 per share, Gaekwad claimed he was willing to offer a price of Rs 275 per share to investors who pledge the shares. Shares of Religare closed Rs 235 apiece on Wednesday, down 2.45%.

Market regulator Sebi had originally rejected Gaekwad’s open offer proposal saying the same was not submitted in accordance with the procedures specified in the takeover code.

This case is part of a string of legal battles being fought in various courts pertaining to takeover of Religare. Earlier, one of the minority shareholder of Religare Sapna Rao filed a special leave petition against market regulator Sebi for declining Gaekwad's open offer. The petition also argued Gaekwad's open offer provides better price discovery for shareholders. However, Burman family has been contending that the bid is to delay the potential takeover of Religare by Burman family.

Separately, current chief executive officer of Religare, Rashmi Saluja, has moved the court seeking intervention against her removal from the board after shareholders rejected her appointment last week. Saluja has been arguing that her directorship in the company is not liable for retirement currently. Last week, shareholders of Religare Enterprises overwhelmingly voted out Rashmi Saluja’s directorship appointment in Religare with 97.53% of votes going against her re-appointment.