ICICI Securities gets shareholder nod for delisting, retail investors oppose

New Delhi: ICICI Securities on Thursday said about 72 per cent of its shareholders have voted in favour of delisting and subsequent merger with parent firm ICICI Bank, even as the majority of retail investors opposed the scheme.

In a regulatory filing, ICICI Securities said 83.8 per cent of institutional investors voted in favour of the scheme, while 67.8 per cent of non-institutional investors voted against it. Overall, 72 per cent of public shareholders voted in favour of the delisting scheme.

The shareholders of the broking firm on March 27 voted on the proposal to delist the company and make it a wholly-owned subsidiary of parent entity ICICI Bank.

Following the announcement, shares of ICICI Securities plunged 4.2 per cent to Rs 710 in the intra-day trade on the BSE. The stock later recovered some of the losses and settled at Rs 729, down 1.63 per cent over the previous close.

"...The outcome of votes cast by public shareholders of ICICI Securities at the NCLT convened equity shareholders meeting in favour of the resolution was approximately 71.9 per cent of the public shareholders of our company, which is in excess of the requisite majority of two-thirds of the public shareholders' votes required under applicable SEBI regulations," ICICI Securities said.

As per the scheme, shareholders of ICICI Securities would receive 67 shares of ICICI Bank for every 100 equity shares held in ICICI Securities.

Last year, the boards of both entities approved the delisting and merger scheme.

There were reports that some investors in ICICI Securities were against the scheme over valuation concerns.

On Wednesday, the stock exchanges sought clarification from the brokerage firm over reports that employees of ICICI Bank were contacting retail shareholders of ICICI Securities in connection with the delisting of its unit.

ICICI Securities said a concerted campaign against the proposal, using social media and involving extensive outreach to retail shareholders, was undertaken by those opposed to the proposed scheme.

"...We are of the considered view that the proposed scheme is in the best interests of shareholders of both ICICI Securities and ICICI Bank.

"Consequently, we felt it was important to reach out to retail shareholders to maximise participation in, and to facilitate a considered outcome of, the vote," ICICI Securities said.