Religare independent directors move against Burmans’ takeover plan; write to Sebi, RBI, IRDAI

Religare's independent directors have alleged that the Burmans are in material breach of regulatory obligations that may harm the firm. Of the six-member board, five are independent. They are Malay Kumar Sinha, Hamid Ahmed, Praveen Kumar Tripathi, Ranjan Dwivedi and Preeti Madan. The board is led by executive chairperson Rashmi Saluja.

The Burman Family has responded saying that the allegations by Religare Directors were baseless and devoid of any merit, a report said.

Once the open offer is concluded, the Burman family-owned entities - currently the largest shareholding bloc at Religare - will nominate their directors on the board of the financial services company, Burman told ET.

The Burman family has consolidated their position in Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) by increasing their stake by around 4% through open market purchases. Their cumulative stake now stands at 25.1%. The stake hike was done at an average price below Rs 235/share, which is the open offer price.

In September 2023, the Burman family, which owns Dabur, signalled its intention to acquire a 5.27% stake in the financial services company for ₹407 crore, taking their shareholding to over 26%, triggering an open offer.

REL led by chairperson Rashmi Saluja has sought to obstruct the applications that need to be sent to the regulators for changes in shareholding, control and management of REL, said the letter by the Burmans, promoters of the Dabur Group. The action by the REL management “impedes the ability of regulatory authorities to perform their obligations,” the Burmans said in the letter, a copy of which ET has seen. “It also costs the public shareholders of Religare.”

After allegations related to betting app Mahadev reached Dabur’s owners, the family contended it’s an attempt to thwart their bid for Religare. Although it’s a season of political intrigue, with charges flying around, the law must eventually prevail—for the sake of capital markets.

Independent directors of Religare Enterprises have opposed a takeover bid by the Burman family, promoters of FMCG giant Dabur, alleging fraud and regulatory breaches.

In an email sent to Sebi and bourses on November 8 that has been reviewed by ET, four entities - MB Finmart, Puran Associates, VIC Enterprises and Milky Investment and Trading Co - that collectively hold 21.24% in Religare said Sal chairperson Rashmi Saluja sold a portion of her personal holdings in the firm soon after a meeting with a representative of the Burmans.

India's billionaire Burman family said on Monday it would buy around 26% of Religare Enterprises (RELG.NS) for 21.16 billion rupees ($255 million), as it seeks to bolster its presence in the rapidly growing financial services sector.