According to SEBI norms, an open offer must be launched within 55 days of the company's public announcement.
Larsen & Toubro (L&T) was keen to take over Bengaluru-based Mindtree. But, it seems to be falling behind on its schedule as it is yet to launch an open offer for the shareholders of the IT company, Business Standard reported.
The deadline fixed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has already passed. According to the regulator's norms, an open offer must be launched within 55 days of the company's public announcement. In L&T's case, this was on March 26 after it bought Café Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha's stake in Mindtree.
"As the open offer is still under examination (by SEBI), it becomes an implicit sort of extension. Of course, the delay will create some amount of uncertainty among all stakeholders. However, there will not be any impact on the price of Mindtree shares," Shriram Subramanian, the founder of InGovern, told the paper.
As per the documents filed by the engineering construction company, the open offer was scheduled to launch on May 14 and culminate on May 27. But, the company is waiting for SEBI to give its approval. In an interview, L&T group chairman AM Naik said the open offer could be expected within 10 days.
"It seems like an implicit extension, as the open offer has not been rejected. So, if the offer goes through, then this is just a delay in timeline. But, if for some reason, the request for open offer if overturned (like the buyback by L&T), that will be somewhat worrying. So, only delay in the open offer is not material for shareholders at this point," Amit Tandon, the MD of proxy advisory firm liAS, was quoted as saying in the report.
L&T wants a controlling stake of 66 percent in Mindtree, at a value of Rs 10,700 crore. This has not gone down well with Mindtree promoters, who want more details about the plan and how it will work for their company.
