SEBI confirms restrictions on U P Hotels

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has confirmed the restrictions it had imposed on U P Hotels Ltd and its promoters for not meeting the minimum 25 per cent minimum public shareholding requirements.

The curbs will remain on the company as it “has not complied with the minimum public shareholding requirements till date’’.

Consequently, the market regulator’s order dated December 3 said “it becomes necessary for SEBI to confirm the directions issued vide the interim order against the company, its directors and promoters/promoter group.”

“... hereby confirm the directions issued vide interim order dated June 4, 2013 against the company, U P Hotels Limited, its directors, promoters/ promoter group,” SEBI said.

“This order shall remain in force till further directions,” it added.

The market regulator, in June last year, had slapped various restrictions on over 100 firms, including U P Hotels, and their respective promoters and directors for not achieving the 25 per cent public holding within the June 3 deadline.

The capital market regulator had frozen the voting rights and corporate benefits of promoters/directors of these companies and barred them from holding any new position on the boards of listed firms, among others.

Among others, U P Hotels and the joint managing directors, in their submissions to SEBI, had argued that they were not able to comply with the norms due to the restraint order dated December 7, 2012 and status quo order dated March 20, 2013 passed by a civil court.

However, SEBI noted that “prior to the orders of civil court also, the company had sufficient time to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms’’.

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