Dish TV India said on Thursday it received a requisition from its largest shareholder, Yes Bank, to call an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) to seek the removal of certain directors, including managing director Jawahar Lal Goel.
The company has received a “requisition letter” dated September 21, asking it convene an EGM, Dish TV India said in a stock exchange fling on Thursday.
“We understand that the company is required to seek an approval from the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) in connection with the appointment of the new directors,” Yes Bank’s letter, a copy of which was sent by Dish TV to stock exchanges, said.
In this case, the removal of directors will be effective from the date of approvals, Yes Bank’s letter added.
Dish TV is a part of Essel Group and is run by Jawahar Goel, Zee group patriarch Subhash Chandra’s brother. Yes Bank holds a 25.63% stake in the direct-to-home service provider.
Yes Bank said the notice was issued as Dish TV was “engaging in dilatory tactics” and instead of placing the resolutions before the shareholders, Dish TV is now seeking an extension of the AGM date based on “unfounded reasons”, Yes Bank alleged.
The resolutions for removal and appointment of directors were to come up for voting at Dish TV’s annual general meeting (AGM) convened for September 27. On September 19, Dish TV had sought an extension for holding the AGM, stating it needs “sufficient time to evaluate, analyse and ensure compliance of regulatory and other approvals”.
Post the notice from Yes Bank, it had also made necessary applications to the lenders seeking their consent for the changes in board and approvals are awaited, Dish TV had said on Sunday.
The company is yet to notify a new date for the AGM.
Earlier, in its September 6 notice, Yes Bank had sought removal of five directors of Dish TV, citing governance issues. Apart from Goel, the lender had also sought removal of Rashmi Aggarwal, Bhagwan Das Narang, Shankar Aggarwal and Ashok Mathai Kurien.
Yes Bank, in its letter, reiterated its earlier allegation that the board was not acting in line with “good corporate governance standards” and the incumbent significant shareholders do not have a fair representation on the board. These shareholders are various banks and financial institutions, holding about 45% stake in the firm.
“The board is purportedly acting at the behest of certain minority shareholders holding merely 6% of the shares in the company,” it alleged.
This was evident from the fact that even though the bank had asked the board to “cease and desist” from raising capital, the board had announced its intention of raising Rs 1,000 crore through a rights issue, Yes Bank added.
The lender had also sought appointment of seven directors including Akash Suri, Sanjay Nambiar, Vijay Bhatt, Haripriya Padmanabhan and Girish Paranjpe.
The others Yes Bank wants to be appointed on Dish TV’s board are Narayan Vasudeo Prabhutendulkar and Arvind Nachaya Mapangada.