Sebi asks Religare to file Burmans’ open offer plan

Email queries sent to Sebi and REL did not elicit responses.

The Burman family, the largest shareholder of Religare holding around 25% stake in the company, had announced the open offer in September 2023 to increase the family's stake and take control of the firm. But Religare did not file the open offer application with Sebi citing a low open offer price and 'fit and proper' allegations against the .

Under the , a target company, Religare in this case, must complete the procedure required for obtaining the regulator's approval for the open offer by the .

Religare's management led by chairperson Rashmi Saluja and the Burmans, promoter of FMCG major , are at loggerheads over the latter's open offer plans. The Burmans have accused the Religare leadership of corporate governance lapses. Religare has accused the Burmans of and other wrongdoing.

The Burmans first invested in Religare by subscribing to share warrants, representing a stake of about 10%. The warrants were subsequently converted into equity.

Thereafter, they increased their stake in Religare to about 22% and later announced to acquire 5% of the company's shares from the secondary market, triggering an open offer for an additional 26%.

In May, Religare moved the against Sebi for its alleged inaction on the complaints made against the Burman family. The firm asked the court to direct Sebi to conduct a forensic audit of the actions taken by the regulator on the basis of its complaints.

Last month, rejected an appeal seeking a stay on the approval for the Burman family's proposed open offer.