Shares of NDTV today surged 20 per cent to hit the upper circuit limit of Rs 39 as SEBI has ordered Vishvapradhan Commercial to make an open offer.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India had yesterday ordered a little-known entity, Vishvapradhan Commercial, to make an open offer for NDTV for indirectly acquiring up to 52 per cent stake through a convertible loan of Rs 350 crore in 2009 ‘sourced’ from a subsidiary of Reliance Industries.

NDTV shares opened on a positive note at Rs 36, then soared further to Rs 39, up 20 per cent from their previous closing price on the BSE. Similarly on the NSE, the stock opened at Rs 36.10, then gained further ground to touch Rs 38.80, up 19.94 per cent over its last close.

Market analysts said the Bombay High Court order also acted as a trigger for the stock. The Bombay High Court had yesterday directed the Reserve Bank of India to consider the compounding applications filed by NDTV in a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

A Bench of justices S C Dharmadhikari and Bharati Dangre set aside the objections raised to the compounding proceedings by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which had earlier flagged the alleged FEMA violations and issued show-cause notices to NDTV in 2015.