Prabhat Dairy Granted 6-Month Extension To Complete Delisting

On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) granted Prabhat Dairy Ltd (PDL) a six-month extension to complete the delisting process.

The company has received shareholders' nod for delisting on 14 October 2019. However, Prabhat Dairy sought permission from the market regulator for a six-month extension for filing the final application for delisting, citing the nationwide lockdown imposed in March as a reason.

As per SEBI's rules, a company is required to make the final application to stock exchanges for delisting within one year of passing the special resolution.

In a six-page order, the watchdog gave an extension of six months to the special resolution passed by the shareholders for the delisting of the company till 13 April 2021, subject to certain conditions.

The regulator had asked for a forensic audit of the company for 2018-19 and 2019-20. However, due to the lockdown, the statutory audit process also got delayed, in turn, delaying the forensic audit process.

PDL declared its audited financial results for the year 2019-20 on 8 October.

Seeking extension, the company also said it aims to complete the forensic audit at the earliest and the delisting of equity shares is in the interest of all public shareholders.

The extension is subject to the conditions, including that the company should extend full co-operation and provide all the requisite information and documents to the forensic auditor within 10 working days from the date of this order. It has to be done on a timely basis to ensure expeditious completion of the forensic audit at the earliest.