Any entity acquiring a controlling stake in a listed Indian company would have to make an open offer for public shareholders, capital market regulator SEBI declared on Tuesday.

SEBI Chairman U. K. Sinha said that the open offer for minority shareholders must be made even in case the acquirer gains control of the company without crossing the shareholding limit of 25 per cent.

The chairman of the regulator refused to comment expressly on the issues surrounding Jet-Etihad deal, in which the Gulf carrier has agreed to acquire 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways. But, he stressed that the regulator was very clear about any such deals.

He said that in the first position an entity acquiring stake in a company beyond a certain limit will have to make an open offer to others.

Speaking on the topic, he added, “The second position is that even if the acquirer has got less than the threshold but he has got the control over the company then also he has to make an open offer.”

As per the proposed Jet-Etihad deal, Etihad would own 24 per cent stake in the carrier and Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal would hold 51 per cent stake; while public shareholders will hold the remainder 25 per cent stake in the carrier.

Though Etihad’s 24 per cent stake in Jet would be below the threshold limit of 25 per cent, yet there are concerns that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier would get voting rights more than the equivalent of its proposed stake.