Delisting Regulations: Time to ease take-private rules for corporate India

The COVID pandemic saw significant reforms being introduced by SEBI to facilitate fundraising in 2020. While a lot was done to facilitate IPOs and rights issues, the other end of the spectrum i.e., regulatory reforms for delisting and public M&A remained largely untouched till now.

It is time for SEBI to have a re-look at the current complex maze of rules which make delisting offers and public M&A unattractive. On March 25, 2021, SEBI approved certain amendments to the Delisting Regulations by tightening timelines, requiring independent directors to provide recommendations, allowing acquirers to provide an indicative price, and detailing the role of merchant bankers in the delisting process. Earlier this month, SEBI announced further relaxations in delisting norms for startup companies on the “Innovators Growth Platform” by exploring an alternative to the reverse book building process. Perhaps the time has come for SEBI to also address some of the known reasons behind the limited success of delistings in India.

Please click here to read the full article by Vikram Raghani, published in The Economic Times.