| At the Company Law Board hearing on Wednesday, the counsel for the majority promoter Atul Maheshwari alleged that Ajay Aggarwal, the minority promoter, was "shopping around" to sell the company's shareholding. |
| The counsel argued that that the petitioners had entered into a sham memorandum of understanding with Mediavest India Private Ltd to suit their requirements. |
| "The petitioners have not only pledged their 35.33 per cent stake in the company with the Zee Group but also pledged the 64.67 per cent of the majority shares," the counsel for Maheshwaris said. |
| The petitioners dismissed the argument saying that they had deposited their shares in the escrow account and that the respondent's shareholding is also in the escrow account. The petitioners argued hat they would retain majority control of the company. |
| The Maheshwaris, during the CLB hearing, alleged that while petitioners have not disclosed the full repayment plan, their failure to repay back Rs 253 crore along with interest of about Rs 3 crore per month would lead to Zee group acquiring total control of Amar Ujala. |
| The CLB had last week rejected objections raised over the funding for buying shares of Amar Ujala by a Zee-promoted agency. |
| The petitioners have made arrangements to finance Rs 253 crore to acquire the 65 per cent stake from the respondents. |
| The details of the financial agreements are expected to reveal the nature of funding and also the repayment plan. The next hearing for the case is slated for April 27. |
| Business and management dispute at publication came to a head in March last year. While Aggarwal had alleged that his powers had been severely curtailed in the garb of corporate restructuring, the Maheshwaris contended that they wanted to run the publication in a professional manner to face competition. |
| The company law board had directed the petitioners to refrain from facilitating or negotiating or shopping around with any party for three years. |
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