Dish TV Promoter Entity Fails To Get Relief From Court On Pledged Shares

An Indian court on Monday declined to provide any relief to Dish TV India Ltd.’s promoter group entity World Crest Advisors LLP on its pledged Dish TV shares.

World Crest Advisors, which had pledged Dish TV shares with Yes Bank and JC Flower Asset Reconstruction Private Ltd., sought the Bombay High Court’s intervention to prohibit them from exercising any rights related to its pledged shares.

Dish TV’s promoter group entity mainly sought to prohibit the bank and JC Flower from exercising its voting rights, including interfering or seeking to partake in the management and affairs of the direct to home entertainment company.

World Crest Advisors, which is controlled by Essel Group, currently owns around 0.05% stake in Dish TV.

The matter is related to around 5,270 crore rupees ($637 million) of loans taken by Essel Group from the bank between 2015 to 2018 by pledging Dish TV shares as securities.

Yes Bank invoked promoters’ pledged Dish TV shares in May 2020 and took control of about 25% stake in the company. The bank, which became the single largest shareholder of Dish TV, later transferred its stake in the Mumbai-based company to JC Flower along with the transfer of its entire debt of around 48,000 crore rupees.

Yes Bank had classified Essel Group’s 6,789 crore rupees as non-performing asset out of the total outstanding dues of 7,698 crore rupees.

Law firm ANB Legal is representing World Crest Advisors, while Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas is representing Yes Bank and JC Flower.

Note: $1 = 82.7321 Indian rupees

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