CERC asks FTIL to sell stake in IEX by July 20

However, the Company Law Board doesn't want the company to sell any assets until 2nd September

The Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has asked Financial Technologies India (FTIL) to sell its stake in Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) by July 20. Notably, this runs contrary to another order by the Company Law Board (CLB), which has asked FTIL not to sell any assets till September 2.

On Wednesday, FTIL informed the BSE of the CERC’s order asking the company to sell its entire stake in IEX by July 20 and transfer the stake to an escrow account.

The order read: “To complete the sale of its (FTIL’s) entire shareholdings in IEX by 20.7.2015 failing which IEX will take steps to sell the shares by 5.8.2015 in a fair and transparent manner.”

FTIL has already entered into a sale purchase agreement to sell 16.6 per cent stake in the exchange to a group of investors. However, that sale is yet to be completed. FTIL holds 26.6 per cent stake in IEX.

The corporate affairs ministry had approached the CLB to supersede the board of FTIL. The case came up for hearing on Tuesday and the CLB fixed the next date of hearing on September 2. It asked FTIL not to sell any assets till then.

This means FTIL cannot comply with CERC order. However, that could be construed as a violation.

CERC has ruled FTIL not fit and proper to hold stake in an exchange regulated by it following a similar order by the Forward Markets Commission that FTIL was not fit to hold stake in MCX. The order was issued following the payment crisis at National Spot Exchange, a subsidiary of FTIL.