Legal Regulation Of Mergers And Acquisitions In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 34 minutes ago
- 1 min read
Megha Saxena, GD Goenka University
ABSTRACT
In India, mergers and acquisitions are regulated by a multi-layered structure as opposed to a single legislation. The Companies Act of 2013 establishes the framework for compromises, agreements, mergers, amalgamations, fast-track mergers, cross-border mergers, and squeeze- outs for unlisted and court-approved restructurings. The SEBI (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 2011 impose price protections, open-offer responsibilities, and transparency duties on listed firms in order to protect public shareholders in the event of a change in control. The Competition Commission of India (CCI), which currently operates under a post-2023 regime that includes a deal-value threshold, quicker review timelines, and a green-channel route for non-problematic cases, is responsible for ex ante review of qualifying combinations at the market-structure level under the Competition Act, 2002. When taken as a whole, these regimes demonstrate that Indian law views M&A as a transaction with distributive and systemic implications rather than as a strictly private agreement. This essay contends that although the current framework generally succeeds in fostering transactional efficiency while offering significant safeguards for investors and competition, the balance is still off. High thresholds for minority shareholder complaints, uncertainty around “control” under takeover legislation, regulatory friction in cross-border transactions, and court deference to majority approval under scheme jurisprudence are the biggest drawbacks.
Keywords: Companies Act of 2013, SEBI Takeover Regulations, Competition Act of 2002, Competition Commission of India (CCI), corporate restructuring, investor protection, market competition, shareholder protection, minority shareholder rights, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A).
