SpiceJet minority shareholders firm on legal fight as open offer arrives

New Delhi: Kalanithi Maran’s move to complete the acquisition of low-fare airline SpiceJet got a shot in the arm on Wednesday evening after his merchant bankers announced new dates for an open offer to acquire an additional 20% stake in the budget carrier.
But sources tell us that the minority shareholders of Royal Holdings Services (RHSL), the holding company through which erstwhile promoter B Kansagra held his 12% stake in SpiceJet, will continue to challenge Kansagra’s sale of shares to Maran.
Even when market regulator Sebi has allowed Maran to go ahead with the open offer for acquiring additional 20% stake in SpiceJet, RHSL’s minority shareholders are examining further legal options and may move court challenging the entire acquisition process.
The open offer is now slated to begin on October 18 and close on November 6.
As of now, a complete restructuring of SpiceJet’s board of directors has been delayed till now because of the non-completion of Maran’s acquisition.
Only six directors remain on the boardnow against the earlier nine. Even the expat CEO, hired just yesterday, has not been appointed to the board.
The directors remaining on the board are: B Kansagra, Mukkaram Jan, Atul Sharma, Kishore Gupta, Ranjeet Nabha and Vijay Kumar. Nabha is widely expected to exit from the board as soon as Maran completes the acquisition process.
14/10/10 Sindhu Bhattacharya/Daily News & Analysis

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Categories: SpiceJet Oct 2010, Sun Airways Oct 2010