SAT rejects plea to stop IPO of TMB

MUMBAI: The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) on Friday dismissed the appeals filed by six foreign institutional investor (FII) shareholders of Tamilnad Mercantile Bank (TMB) seeking to stall the Rs 832-crore initial public offering (IPO) by the lender. The six FII shareholders collectively own 23.2% in the bank, which has announced the Rs 832-crore share sale from September 5.
Their shareholding in the bank is contested by the RBI. According to sources, these had earlier filed writ petitions in the Bombay HC to seek a Sebi direction to the bank to include their shareholding in the offer for sale (OFS), but the bank's final IPO papers do not have an OFS component but only fresh share sale of 10% equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each.
The stocks held by these shareholders were considered ineligible for being offered for sale to the public after the RBI directed the bank to ensure that the shares are not transferred, the source explained. The 101 year-old lender does not have any indentified promoteras it's widely held by over 22,000 shareholders.