Essar gets FTSE rule exemption
THE FTSE has agreed to let Essar Energy stay on its indices without the required 25 per cent free float, in order to protect minority investors while Essar Global Fund (EGF) decides whether to take the firm private.
Without the exemption, Essar would have been kicked out of the FTSE on 4 March, as EGF owns 78 per cent of the shares.
Exclusion from the FTSE would force tracker funds to exit Essar stock, putting further pressure on the share price.
Essar’s independent board members welcomed the move, which gives the firm breathing space ahead of EGF’s put-up-or-shut-up deadline on 14 March.