Abu Dhabi, Feb 17: NMC Health Plc, a hospital operator targeted by short-seller Muddy Waters, said founder Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty resigned amid investor concern he faced a margin call and misrepresented his stake.
The board asked for Co-Chairman Shetty’s resignation and it takes effect immediately, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. NMC has lost four board members since Friday, including Vice Chairman Khaleefa Butti, whose holdings are also being probed. The stock, the worst performer on the FTSE-100 Index this year, fell as much as 9.2 percent Monday morning and then rebounded.
“The resignation of senior board members should be viewed positively,” said Abdulla Nahlawi, an analyst at Rasmala Investment Bank in Dubai. “The credibility of the current board has been jeopardized with the unfolding of the recent events.”
NMC shares lost almost half their value the first week of February on speculation the company’s main investors faced a margin call, in which banks seize shares pledged as collateral. NMC said Friday that First Abu Dhabi Bank and Al Salam Bank Bahrain obtained 20 million shares in the company from BRS International Holding, an investment vehicle of NMC’s top shareholders. The banks sold more than 8 million of those shares as “enforcement of security,” NMC said.
NMC operates the largest medical network in the United Arab Emirates and in 2012 became the first Abu Dhabi company to list in London. The shares started teetering in mid-December when Muddy Waters alleged that NMC manipulated its balance sheet and inflated the prices of companies it acquired.
Shetty, 77, was born in India and founded NMC in the 1970s after moving to Abu Dhabi. His spokesman said a legal review of the situation is ongoing and declined further comment.
Chief Investment Officer Hani Buttikhi and board member Abdulrahman Basaddiq also stepped down because they were appointees of Shetty and Butti, NMC said, adding that they had no knowledge of the share transfers.
Questions remain over the role of Shetty’s family at the company. His wife and son-in-law both hold roles in senior management.
Almost 10 per cent of NMC’s freely traded shares are shorted, according to Markit Securities data. In mid-December about a third of them were.
Last week GKSD Investment, an investment company backed by hospital investors, said it’s studying a possible offer for NMC. Under U.K. takeover rules, it has until March 9 to make a bid.
NMC has said Muddy Waters’s claims are false and the company hired former FBI Director Louis Freeh to conduct an independent review. The review is due to be completed before the company issues its financial results in March, the person said.
NMC said Mark Tompkins will continue as the company’s sole chairman.
Writing on his Facebook page, Justice Katju demanded death sentence for the cops involved in the encounter.
Comments
saudi bopanna ka bap ka hai. And who are you to say whether it is a muslim country or not. boppa
Saudi tere bap ka hai Kya ? Saudi is NOT Muslim country,.
YES WE ARE WITH YOU
Exactly. this is the fake encounter and cops deserve the death penalty.
Katju rightly said. Murderers along with masterminds deserve it.The trend of fake encounters has to be stopped in future.
Yes, many Indians believe that it was custodial killing/fake encounter, and a good majority also agree with Katju. All these Indians, including Katju - A former supreme court judge, are Anti-Nationals.
Sanghi chappars calling a qualified Rtd. chief justice of supreme court \Desh Drohi\". I mean why do people even respond to such comments and trolls.
None the less, Katju is also against many Islamic values and practices. But in this case, he has raised his voice for justice."
#2 Bopanna, KSA
What are you doing in KSA? It is a muslim country and is it allowed to you to work there? How can you feed your family in the wealth which is earned in muslim country. You hate Ummah then in this case you are a hypocrite.
Remember this soon or later truth will prevail and that time you will be sad. In your view if Justice Katju is desh drohi then what about Praveen togadiya, Karnal purohith, sadhvi prajna, Swami asimanad and other all sangi terrorists??
You are right Mr.katju. Guys look @ video, and suspects prisoners were raising hands for surrender. But cops deliberately fired at them. And if you watch last night debate with bloody BJP spokesperson the way of answering was very shameful. Just they were struggling to answer the TV anchors questions.
Bopanna, if it had happened to you or any of your family member you would have felt the same thing.....no one has proved them guilty....they were under trial...police are not doing their job...instead encountering them by putting Simi tag....it is not good for a democratic country like India.....
How much does the Ummah pay you for such statements?
This guy is a Desh drohi
Death penalty for COPS in India !!!!!!!!!.....Forget it man
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