ZEEL shares tank 15% after Sebi order in Hyderabad land pledge case

New Delhi: Shares of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd tumbled 15 per cent on Monday after Sebi prohibited it from the securities market for two months and its Chairman Emeritus Subhash Chandra and MD & CEO Punit Goenka for one year over unauthorised pledge of the company’s Hyderabad land to secure loans availed by promoter-linked Essel Group entities.

The stock tanked 14.98 per cent to end at Rs 98.15 on the BSE. During the day, it dropped 17.19 per cent to Rs 95.60. At the NSE, the stock dived 14.32 per cent to end at Rs 98.14. The company’s market valuation declined by Rs 1,661.69 crore to Rs 9,427.50 crore. The regulator imposed a total penalty of Rs 1.48 crore on them, according to a 150-page final order passed late on Friday.

Individually, the regulator imposed penalties of Rs 30 lakh on ZEEL, Rs 60 lakh on Chandra, and Rs 58 lakh on Goenka. The case relates to the execution of a Deposit and Declaration Agreement (D&A) on December 27, 2018, under which the original title deeds of ZEEL’s Hyderabad property were handed over to Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd (IHFL) as security for loans taken by Essel Home and other borrowing entities linked to the Essel Group.

Sebi noted that the deployment of ZEEL’s property constituted a related-party transaction and the company failed to obtain prior approval from its audit committee, thereby violating LODR (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) regulations.

The regulator further observed that ZEEL failed to make necessary disclosures in its financial statements despite Goenka and Chandra having knowledge that the Hyderabad land had been deployed as security and the title deeds remained with the lender until June 2020. In its findings against Chandra, Sebi said he misused his position as chairman by handing over the original title deeds of ZEEL’s Hyderabad property to IHFL after falsely representing that the action had the approval of ZEEL’s management. “Noticee No.3 being the chairman of ZEEL, misused his position and authority in ZEEL and handed over the original title deeds of the asset (Hyderabad Land) of ZEEL to IHFL by falsely declaring that the said action had the approval of the management of ZEEL. Through such actions, the noticee put the material asset of ZEEL at risk for his personal benefit,” Sebi said in its order.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd on Sunday said it is seeking legal advice on the order passed by market regulator Sebi. The company, however, asserted that Sebi’s order has no direct bearing on its ongoing Rs 2,300 crore fundraising exercise and it will take all necessary steps to complete the proposed capital raise.