While adjudicating both cases, the quasi-judicial authority noted the timing of media reports on the SB Energy deal.
On May 16, 2021, several newspapers carried detailed reports that AGEL was in advanced talks to acquire SB Energy, including the structure and value of the proposed transaction.
“The information being available in public domain cannot lead to any prohibited communication of UPSI or trading when in possession of UPSI,” the SEBI orders said.
SEBI also noted that the news reports on the talks had an impact on the company’s share price.
“The impact of the news reports on the price of scrip of the company was much more than when formal disclosure was made by AGEL on May 19, 2021 (to the stock exchanges), as the scrip hit upper circuit (an increase of 5%) on May 17, 2021, and an increase of 4.84% on May 18, 2021 as compared to increase of 3.75% on May 19, 2021,” SEBI’s orders state.
SEBI concluded that since the UPSI came into existence only after serious negotiations began and stopped being “unpublished” once the May 16 news reports appeared, the trades of the noticees were based on “generally available information” and not on insider knowledge.
