Highlights:
- Kotak Mahindra Bank would take “legal action” against Founder and MD of BharatPe, and his wife Madhuri.
- As per media reports, the couple accused the bank of failing to secure financing and share allocation in the Nykaa IPO and claimed Rs 500 crore in damages.
- However, Kotak Mahindra Bank stated, “there is no breach or violation by the Kotak Group in any way whatsoever.”
Ashneer Grover, co-founder and Managing Director of fintech company BharatPe, and the Kotak Mahindra Group are locked in a legal dispute over the funding of FSN E-commerce Ventures, Nykaa’s parent company.
Kotak Mahindra Bank stated on Sunday that it is seeking “appropriate legal action” against Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri in connection with “inappropriate language” in a phone call Grover reportedly made with a Kotak Group employee.
Grover’s law firm filed a court notice with the Kotak Group on October 30, alleging Kotak Wealth Management of breaching its agreements to offer him and his wife Madhuri shares in FSN. The complaint seeks compensation for Kotak’s claimed inability to provide IPO funding for the IPO and allot shares worth Rs 500 crore prior to the IPO’s closing on Monday, November 1, 2021.
In a media statement issued on Sunday, the Kotak Group stated, “We would like to confirm that there is no breach or violation by the Kotak Group in any manner whatsoever. This notice was received by us and was replied to appropriately at the time, including placing on record our objections to inappropriate language used by Grover. Appropriate legal action is being pursued.”
Also Read: Get Ready To Pay A Fine Of Rs 10000 If You Fail To Link PAN With Aadhaar Before This Date
Grover allegedly used improper language and threatened a Kotak employee in an audio call that leaked on social media last week. Grover, on the other hand, had denied making the call. “Folks. Chill. It’s a fake audio by some scamster trying to extort funds (US$ 240K in bitcoins). I refused to buckle. I’ve got more character. And Internet has got enough scamsters,” Grover had tweeted.
Grover previously spent seven years as Vice President of Kotak Investment Banking. In 2013, he decided to leave the group.
Grover’s legal firm, Regstreet, stated that Kotak’s unwillingness to comply with its guarantees on financing the IPO was based on “erratic FII movements” and “extremely high lending rates.”
FSN E-commerce (Nykaa) was placed on the stock markets in November 2021 at an 80 percent premium. Falguni Nayar, the founder and MD of Nykaa, was previously a top employee of the Kotak Group.
