Minority shareholders of Linde India Limited rejected the company's proposal to enter related party transactions worth ₹417 crore with affiliate Praxair for the financial year 2025-26. According to the scrutinizer's report, 1,70 members voted in favour with 1,57,99,940 votes, while 974 members voted against with 1,30,99,840 votes. In percentage terms, 11% of the votes were cast in favour of the resolution, while 89% were cast against it.
The Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) was attended by 45 shareholders through video conferencing, including one from the promoter and promoter group and 44 public shareholders. A total of 66,184 shareholders were on record as of the cut-off date for determining voting eligibility. The promoter and promoter group, including holding company The BOC Group Limited, did not participate in voting on the resolution in accordance with provisions related to related party transactions.
Governance experts are now suggesting alternative solutions following the shareholder rejection. Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairman of Shailesh Haribhakti Associates, argues that the best solution is merging the two entities in India, as done globally, to resolve conflicts. Amit Tandon, MD of Institutional Investor Advisory Services (IIAS), notes that the vote reflects concerns over value protection. The experts suggest that Linde India should consider a merger with Praxair as a potential solution to address the governance concerns raised by minority shareholders.
The promoter group owns 75% of the stake in the company, while there are more than 60,000 retail investors in the company. Based on the consolidated voting results, the resolution set out in the EGM notice dated February 5, 2026, was not approved by shareholders. Shares of Linde India Ltd ended at ₹6,732.90, up by ₹84.65, or 1.27%, on the BSE following the announcement.
