The Competition Commission of India (CCI) today ruled out any conflict with Sebi over the recently notified merger and acquisitions (M&A) norms, saying the new regime would not clash with the market regulator’s takeover code. In an interview to PTI Bhasha, CCI Chairman Dhanendra Kumar said listed companies can hold shareholder meetings and follow Sebi’s listing procedures, even while its mergers proposals are being scrutinised by the competition watchdog.
“CCI and Sebi are both farsighted and we will work in consultation with each other,” Kumar said.
The CCI has recently notified Sections 5 and 6 of the Competition Act, according to which all high-value merger and acquisitions with combined turnover of Rs 4,500 crore or more will require approval of the body from June 1.
Kumar further said Sebi’s responsibility is to take care of the interest of shareholders, while CCI’s mandate is to safeguard the rights of consumers.
In case of M&As of listed companies, both CCI’s M&A norms and Sebi’s Takeover Code would be applicable, he said.
Kumar said routine merger and acquisition deals have been exempted from seeking CCI nod and about 95% of the deals would be cleared within 30 days, while the rest would require 180 calendar days.
Further, the minimum fees to be paid to the CCI by the companies would be Rs 50,000, significantly lower than the originally Rs 40 lakh proposed by the Commission. However, in certain cases the fees could go up to Rs 10 lakh.
Kumar said the Commission has no intention of minting money through the provisions and fixed the fees keeping in mind its administrative expenses.
PTI
