SAT to hear appeal against SEBI order on Bharti-MTN on Aug 28

MUMBAI: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) will hear an appeal filed by a Bharti Airtel shareholder on August 28, seeking to overturn a SEBI order that exempts South Africa's MTN from making an open offer to Bharti Airtel shareholders.

Deepak Mehra, a shareholder of Bharti Airtel who holds around 200 shares, has challenged a June 22 SEBI order.

The market regulator had said that MTN need not make an open offer to Bharti Airtel shareholders in India as its shareholding in the Sunil Mittal-promoted firm would be through Global Depository Reciepts (GDRs).

SEBI said the open offer will only trigger once the GDRs, issued to MTN and its shareholders by Bharti Airtel are converted into local shares with voting rights.

Justices N K Sodhi and Samar Ray, who heard the appeal today, have posted the next hearing on the matter for August 28.

Mehra is seeking to overturn the SEBI order on the open offer on the ground that underlying shares carry voting rights. Besides, GDR holders are entitled to exercise voting rights througth their depository banks and hence an open offer has to be made.

Mehra is likely to make both Bharti and MTN parties to this and according to his counsel, Janak Dwarkadas, an application to this effect would be made by Friday.