The continuing shutdown of the US government is beginning to disrupt corporate activity for Indian companies with American exposure, as curtailed operations at US agencies delay clearances and filings required for cross-border actions.
Infosys and Hindalco are among those now facing procedural holdups as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) are operating with limited staff.
Infosys, which announced a Rs 18,000-crore share buyback in early September, has yet to declare a record date for the exercise, though both shareholder approval and the SEC’s exemptive relief were obtained by mid-month.
The board cleared the buyback on September 11, and the SEC granted procedural exemptions the following day.
According to industry experts, the ongoing shutdown will not derail the process but could stretch timelines. “The US government shutdown will not derail Infosys’ buyback, but it may slow the process,” Phil Fersht, founder and chief executive of global tech advisory HFS Research, told FE.
“The company’s filings with the SEC are procedural, not approval-based, so any delay will be about timing rather than regulatory risk. “The real governance lies under Sebi, and that process remains unaffected,” he added.
Infosys did not respond to FE’s detailed queries regarding the delay in announcing the record date for the buyback till the time of going to the press.
With the SEC functioning on a skeletal staff, routine correspondence and filings from foreign issuers are being processed slowly.
This includes tender-offer documentation and clarifications needed for American Depositary Receipt (ADR) participation, extending timelines for companies such as Infosys that need coordination with the SEC before announcing investor-facing steps like record dates.
Infosys’s current buyback is its largest to date and the first in three years. The company plans to repurchase up to 100 million fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 5 each, representing 2.41% of its paid-up capital, at Rs 1,800 per share through the tender offer route. Promoters and the promoter group, who collectively hold 13.05%, have opted not to participate. ADR holders can convert their receipts into equity shares before the record date to take part in the buyback.
Similarly, Hindalco Industries has also indicated a delay in the completion of its $125-million acquisition of US-based AluChem Companies, owing to the suspension of CFIUS review timelines. The company has informed the stock exchanges that while CFIUS accepted its short-form declaration on August 12, it later requested a long-form submission on September 30. However, with the federal government shutdown commencing the next day, statutory deadlines under CFIUS’s review framework have been paused.
Announced in June, the AluChem acquisition is part of Hindalco’s strategy to expand its high-value, technology-led materials business. The deal, to be executed through its step-down US subsidiary, is aimed at strengthening its specialty alumina portfolio. Completion will now depend on the resumption of regular CFIUS operations.