Religare independent directors in favour of Burmans' open offer

The RBI, which has oversight on Religare Finvest, on 9 December approved the Burman acquisition

- Ranjani Raghavan & Nehal Chaliawala

Independent directors of Religare Enterprises Ltd are in favour of the proposed takeover by the Burman family, one of these directors said, reversing their previous opposition to the plan.

The change in stance comes after India's banking, pension and insurance regulators have given their go-ahead to the family's plans to launch an open offer for the financial conglomerate.

"Once the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given its approval, we must follow its directions," Religare independent director Malay Kumar Sinha said. "There is no one among the (independent) directors, who is against the directions of RBI and the Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) order, on annual general meeting (AGM) or open offer," he said, adding that there is no difference in opinion among the independent directors on this matter.

Apart from Sinha, the board of Religare has five members, including executive chairperson Rashmi Saluja, and independent directors Ranjan Dwivedi, Hamid Ahmed, Preeti Madan and Praveen Kumar Tripathi.