Court approves Max group's rejig plans

Multiple business corporate Max India Ltd on Thursday said it had got, on December 144, the approval of Punjab and Haryana High Court for its composite scheme of arrangements for demerger of the company.

In a statement, the company said the restructuring scheme was earlier approved by its shareholders, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and the Competition Commission of India.

"The court is expected to issue the detailed certified order shortly," the company said.

"Upon receipt of the detailed certified order, the company will file the same with the Registrar of Companies (RoC) for achieving 'Effective Date' of the demerger - the day the 3 legal entities will stand demerged," the company said.

As per the rejig scheme, on the effective date, Max India will be renamed as Max Financial Services Limited. The resulting two companies - Taurus Ventures Ltd and Capricorn Ventures Ltd - will be renamed as Max India Ltd and Max Ventures and Industries Ltd.

Post demerger, Max Financial Services will start trading on the exchanges in a week from the effective date. The remaining two companies are likely to be listed within 45 days.

Explaining the rationale for the restructuring, Max India managing director Rahul Khosla said: "One of the main benefits of the restructuring is to provide choice for investors to participate specifically in the growth of different sectors/industries."

Post demerger, the three holding companies are Max Financial Services Limited focussing solely on life insurance business through its subsidiary Max Life Insurance; Max India to manage investments in Max Healthcare, Max Bupa and Antara Senior Living; and Max Ventures and Industries to manage investments in Max Speciality Films and also explore new business ventures.

Post restructuring, Max India's existing shareholders will retain one equity share of Rs.2 in Max Financial Services Ltd.

They will additionally get one equity share of Rs.2 each of the new company Max India Limited for every one equity share held in Max Financial Services and one equity share of Rs.10 each of Max Ventures and Industries Limited for every 5 equity shares of Rs.2 each held in Max Financial Services.

The company has applied for approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to enable issuance of the aforesaid new shares.