Sebi slaps Rs 5 crore fine on promoters of Nakoda Ltd

Sebi has slapped Rs 5 crore fine on the promoters of Nakoda Ltd for failure to comply with its order passed more than five years ago wherein the entities were directed to make an open offer.

In 2011, the collective shareholding of the company's promoter entities rose from 50.23 per cent to 62.93 per cent. Since the increase in stake was more than 5 per cent, a public announcement of open offer was to be made under Sebi norms but the entities failed to do so.

Then in 2013, the watchdog directed the entities to make an open offer and the ruling was also upheld by the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) in 2017.

On Wednesday, Sebi said that till date the promoter entities have not complied with the order passed in 2013.

"The noticees (12 entities) have thus deprived the shareholders at the relevant time of their statutory rights/ opportunity to exit from the company.

"Since, the public shareholders were deprived of this valuable right, I am of the view that this is a fit case to impose such penalty that commensurates with the gravity of the violations," Sebi's Adjudicating Officer Satya Ranjan Prasad said on Wednesday.

A fine of Rs 5 crore has been imposed on the noticees.

"The shareholding of promoters forms a very important criterion for the public to make their investment decisions. In the present case, the promoters made certain acquisitions beyond the acceptable threshold and were thus liable to give an open offer," the regulator noted.