Leela hotels sale to Brookfield stalled by Sebi

The SEBI has advised Hotel Leelaventure not to act on the proposed sale of the company’s properties to Brookfield. A complaint from minority shareholders ITC and Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and comes within hours of ITC’s petition in the National Company Law Tribunal against Hotel Leelaventure, alleging “oppression and mismanagement” of minority shareholders. ITC has a 7.92% stake in Hotel Leelaventure, while LIC holds 2.36% through its LIC of India Future Plus Growth Fund. ITC has sought a waiver of the clause that requires a shareholder to have a minimum 10% shareholding to be eligible to file a case under Section 241 of the Companies Act. The conversion of a loan into a 26% stake by JM Financial ARC had resulted in ITC’s stake being diluted to below 10% from 11.78%. As gleaned from the Sebi letter to Hotel Leelaventure, the regulator had already sought comments
from the company on the alleged violation of provisions pertaining to related-party transactions.