BoR seeks legal advice on shareholders' vote

Amid uncertainty about the validity of voting conducted by Bank of Rajasthan shareholders on Monday, the bank said it has sought the legal opinion on the matter.

"We have sought legal advice on that aspect and our legal advisers are currently examining that," Bank of Rajasthan Managing Director and CEO G Padmanabhan told PTI, when asked whether the shareholders vote was valid after the bank's management distanced itself from the EGM proceedings on Monday following a stay from a Kolkata civil court.

High drama marked the shareholders' vote on Bank of Rajasthan's merger with ICICI Bank, with a local court in Kolkata staying the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) only for it to be vacated by the High Court.

The meeting to approve the merger of Udaipur-based BoR with the country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank got off to a chaotic start, when the BoR management said it was canceling the meet following a stay obtained by an investor from a civil court.

Padmanabhan said the shareholders have so far not communicated anything about the outcome of the voting held on Monday but the bank is in touch with the Reserve Bank about the developments.

"We have not heard anything from them so far. Nothing has been communicated ... we are always in touch with the RBI, especially about sensitive developments like this," Padmanabhan, who was appointed by RBI as BoR Chief to steer the troubled bank, said. Meanwhile, ICICI Bank said its shareholders have approved the merger of Bank of Rajasthan with itself.

The shareholders of the bank approved the amalgamation of Bank of Rajasthan with ICICI Bank at the extraordinary general meeting held at Vadodara on Monday, it said. ICICI Bank last month agreed to take over Bank of Rajasthan in a share-swap deal that valued the Udaipur-based bank at over Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion).

The share swap ratio was fixed at one ICICI Bank share for every 4.72 shares of BoR. Both banks can proceed with the merger only if the shareholders approve the swap ratio.