Minority shareholders of Raymond Ltd voted against a resolution seeking approval for the sale of four luxury duplex apartments in JK House, Mumbai, to family members of the promoter group at a fraction of the cost.
The sale would leave the company, and its shareholders, with an opportunity loss of ₹650 crore, shareholder advisory IiAS had estimated in a report last week.
According to a disclosure made to stock exchanges, over 97 per cent of minority shareholders of the company — institutional and retail — voted against the resolution at the company’s annual general meeting on Monday.
Commenting on the development, Gautam Hari Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director, Raymond Ltd, said: “I am happy with the outcome of voting against the resolution as this decision by shareholders is in the best interest of the company and shareholders and is aligned to my personal opinion on this issue, expressed earlier.”
Minority shareholders of the company appear to have made their unhappiness with the company’s management known at Monday’s shareholder meeting. Of the retail and non-institutional public shareholders who participated, 62 per cent voted against a resolution to reappoint Singhania as CMD of the company.
Since the promoter group owns 43 per cent of the shares (as of March 31), Singhania comfortably won an extension at the helm of the textile major in the ordinary resolution for his reappointment.
However, it is pertinent that 9.4 per cent of the company’s voting shareholders didn’t want to see him continue.