Dish TV and lenders engage in new legal dispute over board restructuring

A fresh legal battle is brewing between satellite TV broadcaster Dish TV India and its lenders.

This comes as the company’s board has recommended names of two new directors while keeping in abeyance the three names recommended by the lenders.

Lenders, who own a majority stake in the company, have called for removal of the existing two-member board of S Aggarwal and Rashmi Aggarwal. They cited corporate governance lapses but the board has not taken any decision so far, said banking sources.

Lenders have sent two communications to the board saying the majority stakeholders have lost faith in the existing board. This is because they are not working in the best interest of the stakeholders, according to the filings made to the stock exchanges.

“After receiving the lenders’ communication, the board, instead of resigning, recommended two more names to the board while not taking any decision on the three names sent by lenders. All the shareholders are suffering as share prices are falling and losses are rising,” said a banking source.

For FY23, the company reported a loss of Rs. 2,029 crore on a revenue of Rs. 1,110 crore.

An email sent to Dish TV India did not elicit any response. Dish TV shares closed flat at Rs. 18.14 on the BSE on Tuesday.

The Subhash Chandra family, which now owns less than 4 per cent in the company, lost its shares in Dish TV after promoter entities defaulted on loans and banks seized the pledged shares.

On June 1, Dish TV India said the requisition notices sent by lenders were considered invalid as four notices have not been issued by the shareholders. Seven notices have been submitted in duplicate but the original versions were not provided.

No authorisation has been submitted along with the notices of 11 entities — being companies, trusts and partnerships — by their boards or governing bodies or other entities. So, such individuals were not authorised to call for an extraordinary general meeting and send notices under Section 100 of the Companies Act, 2013, the company said.

Among the lenders, YES Bank had the highest exposure to Dish TV India at Rs. 5,000 crore. The bank now holds around 25 per cent stake in the company.

The loan to Dish TV, along with its bad loan portfolio worth Rs. 20,000 crore, has been transferred to a joint venture with JC Flowers. Business Standard