Lenders seize smid shares as prices fall

Creditors invoke securities pledged by owners to borrow loans

- Nehal Chaliawala & Varun Sood

A stock price plunge and, in some cases, a cash crunch has prompted creditors to take control of shares pledged by promoters of at least 15 small-cap companies over the past six months.

Solar project consultant and contractor Gensol Engineering Ltd and payment solutions provider AGS Transact Technologies Ltd, two companies that recently defaulted on loans, are among the small-cap firms that reported invocation of pledged shares, according to Prime Database, a Mumbai-based markets data tracking firm.

Other such companies that saw promoter shares taken over by lenders include renewable energy producer Orient Green Power Co. Ltd, digital services assistance provider Vakrangee Ltd, ready-mix concrete provider NCL Industries Ltd, chemicals maker Sadhana Nitro Chem, and electric two-wheeler company Wardwizard Innovations & Mobility Ltd.

These firms have a market cap between ₹5 crore and ₹1,500 crore.