Sebi provides exemptions for delisting of Ronson Traders

The company in December 2019 had moved a plea to seek exemptions from certain provisions of Delisting of Equity Shares Regulations, according to a Sebi order released on Friday. The equity shares of the applicant are listed on Calcutta Stock Exchange Limited (CSE), Sebi noted.

Markets regulator Sebi on Friday provided an exemption to non-banking financial company Ronson Traders Ltd from certain provisions of delisting norms for voluntary delisting of equity shares. The company in December 2019 had moved a plea to seek exemptions from certain provisions of Delisting of Equity Shares Regulations, according to a Sebi order released on Friday.

The equity shares of the applicant are listed on Calcutta Stock Exchange Limited (CSE), Sebi noted. Regulation 27 of the delisting regulations permit the delisting of equity shares of a small company from all recognized stock exchanges without following the extensive procedure under the norms, subject to the fulfillment of criteria.

The company sought exemption from minimum public shareholding requirements and certain provisions of delisting regulations. In its application, the firm said 96.37 percent of the shares of the firm are held by promoters and promoter group and the remaining 3.63 percent are held by 13 public shareholders.

The company satisfies all the criteria specified in Regulation 27 except that of net worth. The net worth of the applicant is Rs 72.55 crore as against the limit of Rs 25 crore specified in the regulation. As regards the steps taken to comply with the minimum public shareholding requirement, the company submitted that since there are only 13 public shareholders and the CSE is non-operational and the company is not listed on any nationwide stock exchange, there is no investor interest in the shares of the company and hence, various methods prescribed by Sebi to achieve MPS compliance were not feasible.

While allowing the relaxation, Sebi asked the firm to comply with provisions of all other applicable laws and initiate voluntary delisting of its equity shares within one month and complete the process within one year from the date of the order.