Press Trust of India / Mumbai Aug 17, 2009, 20:08 IST
Telecom major Bharti Airtel and South African MTN have been made parties in a plea challenging market regulator Sebi's exemption to the foreign company from making an open offer to shareholders of the domestic firm, if a merger deal between two materialises.
One Deepak Mehra, a shareholder in Bharti Airtel has challenged a June 22 Sebi order in the Securities and Appellate Tribunal (SAT). A Bench comprising Justices N K Sodhi and Samar Ray on August 11 permitted Mehra to make both Bharti and MTN parties to the case.
According to a source close to the development, an application has been filed in SAT to make the telecom majors a parties in the case.
Sebi in an order dated June 22 exempted MTN from making an open offer to Bharti Airtel shareholders on the ground that MTN's shareholding in the domestic firm would be through global depository receipts.
Sebi said an open offer will be triggered only once the GDRs, issued to MTN and its shareholders by Bharti Airtel, are converted into local shares with voting rights. The case is slated for hearing on August 28. Mehra is seeking to overturn the Sebi order on the ground that underlying shares carry voting rights.
Bharti and MTN are in exclusive talks till August 31 to create a $23-billion merged entity in a cash and stock transaction.
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