Having introduced the temporary relief, and following representations by stakeholders and the recommendations of the Primary Market Advisory Committee (PMAC), SEBI has, by virtue of the amended preferential allotment norms, addressed most of the concerns relating to pricing of preferential issuances in order to facilitate fund raising. A primary concern was the disparity in the determination of the floor price under regulation 164(1) of the SEBI ICDR regulations. In brief, volatile and dynamic market conditions had resulted in the price determined based on 26 weeks’ average to be significantly different from the price determined based on a two-week average. This was becoming a deterrent to promoters or investors coming to the aid of the listed company in times of need. To counter this anomaly, the determination of the floor price has now been made the higher of VWAP for 90 trading days or 10 trading days preceding the relevant date, thereby significantly reducing the upper cap. While the recommendation of PMAC was to use the higher of VWAP for 60 trading days or 10 trading days, this change, nevertheless, is a move in the right direction.

At the same time, to address concerns surrounding the valuation of scrips where change in control is triggered by preferential allotments, the amended preferential allotment norms now require a valuation report to be prepared by an independent registered valuer to determine the floor price. The valuation report must also give guidance on the control premium that is to be computed in addition to the floor price. Any preferential issue that may result in a change in control of the listed issuer may now only be made following a reasoned recommendation from a committee of independent directors of such listed issuer. The committee must consider all aspects relating to the preferential issue, including pricing. The results of the voting at the meeting of this committee must also be disclosed in the notice calling the general meeting of the shareholders.

One of the most discussed changes brought about by the amended preferential allotment norms is where the articles of association (AoA) of a listed issuer provide for a method of determining the floor price, that is the AoA floor price. In such cases, the amended preferential allotment norms provide that if the AoA floor price is higher than that determined under the SEBI ICDR regulations, the AoA floor price will be the floor price for equity shares to be allotted in the preferential issue. At the same time, given that the SEBI ICDR regulations gave no guidance on what forms of consideration other than cash are permitted in cases of preferential issuances, the amended preferential allotment norms have provided welcome clarity by providing that a swap of shares is the only permissible form of consideration other than cash.

Overall, the changes introduced by the amended preferential allotment norms are expected to result in better value for the listed companies considering preferential allotment as well as their investors.

This article was originally published in India Business Law Journal on 23 February 2022 Co-written by: Rudra Kumar Pandey, Partner; Amanjot Malhi, Partner. Click here for original article

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