SEBI Suspends Trading In Shares Of Coffee Day Enterprises

The Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has suspended trading in shares of Coffee Day Enterprises Limited (CDEL).

The company’s shares were last traded on February 1, 2020, when the stock market was open for budget announcements.

Earlier, the SEBI had informed CDEL that any delay in declaration of earnings beyond January 29, could lead to halting of trade in the company’s shares due to breach of listing regulations.

However, the Bengaluru-headquartered firm had sought more time to submit its audited results, citing non-completion of internal investigations.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE) had also issued a warning to CDEL that its stocks would be barred from trading from February 3, 2020, if it failed to declare its results for the first quarter as well as the half-yearly results by January 29.

These warnings were issued based on listing norms laid down by the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI).

It may be recalled that the SEBI had investigated the roles of some private equity players and their nominees on the CDEL board, as well as some independent directors, in the wake of a crisis at the coffee chain operator due to the death of its founder and chief V G Siddhartha.

The role of the company's audit committee and other board committees besides their members was also under investigation.