SC upholds delisting of ICICI Securities shares, dismisses investor’s plea – News Air Insight

The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld the delisting of ICICI Securities, dismissing a petition by investor Manu Rishi Gupta. The plea had challenged the share valuation process as unfair, arguing that a reverse book building (RBB) mechanism might have resulted in a better price for shareholders.

In March, ICICI Securities was delisted, and it became ICICI Bank‘s wholly owned arm.

Before the apex court, Gupta’s counsel argued that the delisting of ICICI Securities was done in an opaque and rushed manner and termed it “shocking”.

In response, the ICICI Securities’ counsel had told the bench that Gupta continued to indulge in buying and selling of shares of ICICI Securities, including as recently as August 2024.

In March, nearly 72% of shareholder votes were cast in favour of the scheme of arrangement for the merger of ICICI Securities with its promoter ICICI Bank, according to the then filing made to the exchanges.

The voting on the merger scheme was done following a National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order of February 14, 2024, to consider approving the scheme. The meeting was attended by 161 equity shareholders including authorised representatives.More To Come…