 "Religare")
The Burman family has written to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and stock exchanges, seeking a probe into trades in the shares of Religare Enterprises Limited by chairperson Rashmi Saluja.
An email sent to the Sebi and bourses on November 8 stated that Rashmi Saluja sold a portion of her personal holdings in the firm soon after a meeting with a representative of the Burmans, according to a report in The Economic Times (ET).
The representative had informed her that the Burmans plan to make an open offer to acquire control of the company. However, a spokesperson from Religare said that the meeting with Burmans' representative had nothing to do with the sale of shares by Saluja.
Recently, allegations of fraud and breaches were made by the independent directors of Religare to financial sector regulators, including the Sebi, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.
According to ET, the letter sent by the Burman family to the regulator and the exchanges stated that they had written to the board of Religare on October 26 regarding the sale of 1.29 million shares by Saluja for Rs 34.71 crore on September 21-22.
It said that on September 20, the family's representative, Arjun Lamba, met with Rashmi Saluja to inform her about the Burman family's intentions to make an open offer to Religare's public shareholders.
The Burman family accumulated a 21.5 per cent stake in Religare Enterprises by August this year. In September, they bought another 5.27 per cent, triggering a mandatory open offer to buy an extra 26 per cent from the public.
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The October 26 letter by the Burman family to Saluja stated, "The information was communicated to you on a confidential basis in your professional capacity as executive chairperson of the company. Thereafter, to our surprise, we note that shortly after our meeting, you had undertaken the following trades."
It added: "We trust that your decision-making process regarding the aforesaid trades aligns with the high standards of market integrity associated with your role. However, as shareholders holding a 21.24 per cent stake in the company, and with a commitment to preserving the best interests of both the company and its investors, we believe it is our responsibility to bring these trades to the attention of the board of directors."
Religare said that this process was undertaken before the "said meeting" on September 20.
