BackDLF denies claim it withheld key information from investors ahead of QIP
The SC has issued a notice to DLF based on a petition that highlighted how it suppressed key information regarding judicial proceedings against the largest chunk of its land bank in HaryanaDLF Ltd lost 15.91% to close at ₹144.30 per share on Thursday on the BSE
PremiumBengaluru: India’s largest real estate firm DLF Ltd on Thursday said that it had received a Supreme Court notice in July regarding non-disclosure of material information, but denied allegations that it failed to inform investors before rasing money through a qualified institutional placement (QIP).
The apex court had issued the notice on the basis of a petition that claimed DLF had suppressed key information on the judicial proceedings regarding the land bank it owns in Haryana.
DLF sold shares to a clutch of qualified investors in March to raise ₹3,200 crore.
On Thursday, DLF’s stock fell 15.9% to close at ₹144.30 on BSE, while the benchmark Sensex lost 1.59% to close at 36,472.93 points, and the BSE Realty Index lost 6.01% to 1,871.93 points.
According to a 21 August report by The Hindu Business Line, DLF failed to disclose a material amalgamation that renders one of its flagship subsidiaries liable in the matters arising out of the court orders with regard to M/s Aaliyah Real Estates.
DLF’s whole-time director and group chief financial officer Ashok Tyagi on Thursday said the land being referred to is an old land acquisition case, entailing a small 5-6 acre parcel by Aaliyah Real Estates, which is not its subsidiary.
DLF also informed the stock exchanges that the complainant, K.K. Sinha, had also filed a complaint against the company’s IPO prospectus in 2007. However, the Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) ruled in its favour in March, 2015, and observed that there were no mis-statements or non-disclosures.
The appeals by markets regulator Sebi and the complainant against the SAT order are in public domain and pending before the apex court, it added.
DLF denied the allegations that were made in the fresh petition by Sinha before the Supreme Court in May, which said that certain ongoing land litigation should have been disclosed as a part of the red herring prospectus (2013) and placement document (2019).
“…Since the SAT order had stated that certain entities are not subsidiaries of DLF group and, consequently, litigation pertaining to such companies does not require disclosure, in compliance therewith and the current securities regulations, the alleged ongoing land litigation did not require disclosure," DLF said. The developer’s June quarter profit jumped 140% to ₹414 crore from ₹172.44 crore in the year-ago period after the company strengthened its cash reserves and pared debt. The real estate firm’s total income fell 7.04% to ₹1,540.95 crore during the same period from ₹1,657.67 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
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