The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has warned ICICI Bank about its outreach efforts regarding the delisting of ICICI Securities. SEBI noted that the bank’s program aimed to increase participation in the voting process in response to a social media campaign by some sophisticated shareholders against the delisting plan.
While ICICI Bank claimed the outreach was to explain the delisting scheme and encourage shareholder participation, SEBI found that some officials went beyond this by repeatedly calling shareholders and asking for voting screenshots. SEBI highlighted that ICICI Bank’s involvement presented a conflict of interest, making the outreach inappropriate.
ICICI Bank defended the scheme, stating it was recommended by independent valuers. The delisting proposal offers ICICI Securities shareholders 67 shares of ICICI Bank for every 100 shares they hold.
SEBI has allowed ICICI Bank an exemption from delisting regulations requiring the listed holding company and subsidiary to be in the same business line. Despite controversy, ICICI Securities reported a strong financial performance in the recent quarter, with net profit more than doubling to Rs 536 crore and consolidated revenue at Rs 1,543 crore.
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