The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) has dismissed businessman Digvijay Laxhamsinh Gaekwad's appeal seeking exemption from takeover regulations to make a competing open offer for Religare Enterprises. According to Business Standard, a three-member bench headed by Justice P S Dinesh Kumar ruled that Gaekwad missed the prescribed 15-day deadline under Sebi regulations. The tribunal noted that Gaekwad approached Sebi in January 2025, seeking to make an offer at ₹275 per share against the Burman Group's offer of ₹235. SAT emphasized that allowing a competing offer at that stage would result in unequal treatment of the 'first offeror' who had already deposited money in an escrow account and obtained regulatory approvals.
Ace investor Ashish Dhawan has made a significant investment in two lending companies that share a common regulatory challenge. According to reports from The Financial Express, Dhawan increased his holding in IIFL Finance from 4.1% to 5.2% and added to his position in Religare Enterprises from 1.09% to 1.33% during the June 2026 quarter. Together, these two positions are worth over ₹760 crore. The strategy involves buying into companies that have faced regulatory setbacks, which typically creates forced selling pressure among retail investors.
IIFL Finance has demonstrated remarkable recovery after facing a regulatory ban on gold loans in March 2024. As reported by The Financial Express, the company's net profit fell from ₹1,974 crore in FY24 to ₹578 crore in FY25, representing a 71% decline due to the six-month ban on gold lending. However, the ban was lifted in September 2024, and the company has since rebuilt its business with a loan book now standing at ₹1.16 lakh crore, up 38% year-on-year. The June 2026 quarter marked the company's best performance with net profit of ₹713 crore, up 160% year-on-year, driven primarily by gold loans which grew 114% to ₹58,406 crore.
Religare Enterprises faces a different regulatory hurdle with the Reserve Bank blocking its proposed demerger plan. According to The Financial Express, the RBI rejected the company's scheme to split its financial services businesses from insurance into separate entities, citing concerns about the structure. The company, which owns approximately 63% of Care Health Insurance and other financial units, reported a net loss of ₹47 crore in Q1 FY27 despite revenue growth of 26% to ₹2,353 crore. The regulatory uncertainty has created a 161x PE ratio compared to the industry median of 27x, with the stock trading at a significant discount to sector averages.
Both investments present contrasting valuation opportunities despite regulatory challenges. As reported by The Financial Express, IIFL Finance trades at 13x PE compared to the industry median of 20x, representing a 45% discount despite the company's strong fundamentals including 19.5% annualised return on equity. Meanwhile, Religare Enterprises trades at 161x PE with a 10-year median PE of 73x, significantly above the industry average of 20x. The valuation disparity reflects the market's different assessment of the regulatory risks and recovery prospects for each company.
