ICICI Securities is sued by minority shareholders over the delisting proposal

A class action lawsuit against ICICI Securities’ delisting intentions has been launched with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) by more than 100 minority shareholders of ICICI Securities.

Minority shareholders are represented by Manu Rishi Gupta, the founder of the Bengaluru-based investment vehicle MRG Capital.

The share exchange ratio that was suggested in order to delist the brokerage has drawn criticism from the shareholders. Shareholders of ICICI Securities would get 67 shares of ICICI Bank for each 100 shares they already own under the proposed delisting plan.

Despite opposition from some retail shareholders, ICICI Securities obtained approval from shareholders on March 28 to delist its shares, opening the door for a merger with parent and majority shareholder ICICI Bank. According to the results of the shareholder vote, the proposal to combine ICICI Securities and ICICI Bank after a delisting procedure received support from 71.9% of the voting shareholders.

Minority shareholder Quantum Mutual Fund protested to the ICICI Securities and parent company ICICI Bank merger plan on April 10, citing it as “flawed and bridled with irregularities” and claiming it would negatively impact the brokerage firm’s minority shareholders.