The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notice to the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India on the issue of settlement reached between Vijay Mallya's UB Group and Chhabria Group over the management and control of liquor company, Herbertsons Limited.
A Bench comprising Justice N Santosh Hegde and Justice S B Sinha issued the notice on an application made by the United Breweries group stating about the amicable settlement reached by it with the Chhabrias and expressed the intention of the parties to give a quietus to the litigation.
"The proposed settlement if put through would resolve all outstanding issues between the UB Group on one hand and the Chhabria Group on the other, in respect of the management and control of Herbertsons Ltd," said the application seeking permission for the private parties to file their consent.
The application gave details of the settlement reached between the parties and said UB Group proposed to purchase a total of 46,72,791 shares including the disputed shares from Chhabria group for a total consideration of Rs 131.16 crores (Rs 1.31 billion) in full and final settlement of all claims and counter claims.
UB Group submitted that "the above proposal if and when put through would not entail an obligation to make a public announcement of the offer because of Sebi (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997...".
With the purchase of the shares from Chhabria Group, UB Group together with its associates would hold 92.22 per cent of the voting capital of Herbertsons Ltd, it said and undertook to comply with the Sebi Guidelines, 2003.