Sameer Gehlaut, who co-founded the Indiabulls group 23 years ago, is stepping down as the chairman of the group’s flagship company Indiabulls Housing Finance (IBHFL).
The decision will also pave the way for the company to turn into a professionally-run entity from being a promoter-driven one. Earlier, Gehlaut had also stepped down from Indiabulls Real Estate, which is part of the Embassy group now. According to market sources, Blackstone Group and Middle East sovereign fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority will have a major say in running of the company.
In his letter to the company’s board, Gehlaut said he will devote his time to grow Dhani Services (formerly Indiabulls Ventures), a fintech-cum-healthcare venture. On Tuesday, in a related development, Gagan Banga, who had been with the group almost since its inception in 1999, resigned from Dhani Services as a non-executive director to devote his time at Indiabulls Housing. Banga is currently the vice chairman & MD at the home finance company.
The stock price of Indiabulls Housing initially rallied nearly 13% on BSE on the news of the rejig. It finally settled 4.7% higher at Rs 157 while the sensex closed 1.3% down.
Currently, Gehlaut holds 9.7% stake in Indiabulls Housing, which is below the Sebi threshold limit of 10% to continue as a promoter.
He intends to continue to hold that stake, his letter to the company, disclosed to the bourses, said. Last December, Gehlaut had sold nearly 12% of his stake in the company to a host of foreign and domestic investors, including Blackstone and ADIA. The sale was part of the process of the depromoterisation process.
In a stock exchange disclosure, Indiabulls Housing said that Gehlaut has also applied for the process of depromoterisation to be completed under the current laws. In 2020, Gehlaut had stepped down as the chairman of the housing finance company. After Gehlaut’s exit, a majority of the nine-member board will be independent ones, the company said.
