The National Stock Exchange and the BSE have put a freeze on equity shares held by promoter groups of Patanjali Foods Ltd (formerly known as Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd) for not meeting the public shareholding requirements within the stipulated deadline. The freezing will be applicable till compliance with minimum public shareholding requirements as per SEBI regulation.

The 21 entities on whom the exchanges have put restrictions include Patanjali Ayurveda Ltd, Patanjali Parivahan Private Ltd, Patanjali Renewable Energy Private Ltd and Patanjali Agro India Private Ltd.

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The company stated that the corporate insolvency resolution process was initiated against the company by National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai Bench, in 2017. Further, the resolution plan submitted by a consortium led by Patanjali Ayurved Ltd was approved by NCLT on July 24, 2019.

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“In order to comply with the above-mentioned provision, the company came up with Further Public Offering (FPO) in March 2022 and issued 6,61,53,846 equity shares of ₹2 each at a premium of ₹648 per share aggregating to ₹4,300 crore by which the public shareholding was increased to 19.18 per cent. Accordingly, the company had to increase its public shareholding from 19.18 per cent to 25 per cent. While the company management was discussing various means and methods for increasing its public shareholding, in the meantime, the company received an e-mail from the Stock exchanges freezing the shareholding of the Promoters and Promoter Group,” the company said in the stock exchange filing. 

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