Delhi high court rejects bid to halt Burmans’ open offer for Religare

The Delhi high court on Thursday rejected a Bangkok-based investor’s plea to halt the Burman family’s open offer to buy 26% shares in Religare Enterprises Ltd from public shareholders.

The court said that as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had returned Digvijay Danny Gaekwad’s higher counteroffer, there was no other rival bid to match the ongoing open offer.

Earlier this week, Sapna Govind Rao, who claimed to own 500 shares in Religare, sought the intervention of the high court, arguing that public investors should be allowed a chance to evaluate Gaekwad’s higher proposed offer to buy shares at ₹275 a share.

India-born US businessman Gaekwad first made an offer to buy up to 26% shares on Friday and later revised it to buy up to 55% shares for ₹5,000 crore. Gaekwad’s offer was made less than 72 hours before shareholders could tender their shares on Monday at ₹235 a share to four privately owned entities owned by Mohit Burman, chairman of Dabur.

Sebi returned Gaekwad’s offer for now because it did not conform to the regulator’s exemption application rules under the country’s takeover code.

Also Read: Religare takeover saga takes a fresh twist with the entry of a mystery Bangkok investor

The battle for Religare has witnessed a series of dramatic turns ever since the Burman family announced their plans to own the company that controls India’s second-largest private health insurance firm, Care Health Insurance Ltd, and other broking and non-bank subsidiaries.

The Burman family had first expressed interest in acquiring a controlling stake in Religare in September 2023. They have also been pushing for the removal of Religare chairperson Rashmi Saluja.

Saluja has voiced her dissatisfaction with the Burman family’s open offer price, delaying the company’s annual general meeting by six months. In December, an investor from Madhya Pradesh sought another court’s intervention for a stay order on the shareholder meeting. Subsequently, the court quashed the appeal, and Religare’s annual general meeting is scheduled for 7 February.

This is a developing story.