After a prolonged corporate battle between the former management of Religare Enterprises and the Burman family, the latter has finally secured control of the financial conglomerate.
On Thursday, Religare Enterprises informed the exchanges that the Burman family, through its investment entities—MB Finmart, Puran Associates, Milky Investment and Trading Company, and Vic Enterprises—has acquired an additional 4.06% stake in REL, increasing its total shareholding in the company to 25.16%.
The open offer received a tepid response, with only 231,025 shares (representing just 0.07% of the total share capital) tendered against the over 9 crore shares the Burman family had offered to buy. Meanwhile, the entities mentioned earlier acquired over 1.33 crore shares (or 3.99% of total shares) through open market purchases.
“We are pleased to announce that we have acquired control of Religare Enterprises Limited (REL) and have been designated as its promoters. We are grateful to our regulators, shareholders, and other stakeholders for their trust and confidence,” said a Burman family spokesperson.
The spokesperson further stated that the new promoters’ immediate priority is to instill stability, strengthen governance, and drive sustainable growth at the company. “Governance, trust, and integrity will remain at the core of our vision as we steer REL towards a future defined by resilience and stakeholder value maximization,” he added.
The Burman family had announced the open offer in September 2023. However, the then-management of the company, led by Rashmi Saluja, opposed the move and accused the Burman family of market manipulation. The independent directors of REL filed complaints against the Burman family with SEBI, the RBI Governor, and the head of IRDAI. However, these efforts did not succeed, and both SEBI and RBI allowed the Burmans to proceed with the open offer.
In a last-ditch attempt to prevent the Burmans from taking control of the company, a US-based investor, Danny Gaekwad, made a counteroffer to buy a 26% stake in REL. However, SEBI rejected Gaekwad’s offer, paving the way for the Burman family to take control of the company and bringing an end to the one-and-a-half-year-long corporate battle.