Regulation 50 of LODR
Offer or invitation for subscription of securities on private placement
(1) A company may, subject to the provisions of this section, make a private placement of .
(2) A private placement shall be made only to a select group of persons who have been identified by the Board (herein referred to as “identified persons”), whose number shall not exceed fifty or such higher number as may be prescribed [excluding the qualified institutional buyers and employees of the company being offered securities under a scheme of employees stock option in terms of provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 62], in a financial year subject to such conditions .
(3) A company making private placement shall issue private placement offer and application in such form and manner as may be prescribed to identified persons, whose names and addresses are recorded by the company in such manner :
Provided that the private placement offer and application shall not carry any right of renunciation.
Explanation I.—”private placement” means any offer or invitation to subscribe or issue of securities to a select group of persons by a company (other than by way of public offer) through private placement offer-cum-application, which satisfies the conditions specified in this section.
Explanation II.—”qualified institutional buyer” means the qualified institutional buyer as defined in the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009, as amended from time to time, made under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
Explanation III.—If a company, listed or unlisted, makes an offer to allot or invites subscription, or allots, or enters into an agreement to allot, securities to more than the prescribed number of persons, whether the payment for the securities has been received or not or whether the company intends to list its securities or not on any in or outside India, the same shall be deemed to be an offer to the public and shall accordingly be governed by the provisions of Part I of this Chapter.
(4) Every identified person willing to subscribe to the private placement issue shall apply in the private placement and application issued to such person alongwith subscription money paid either by cheque or demand draft or other banking channel and not by cash:
Provided that a company shall not utilise monies raised through private placement unless allotment is made and the return of allotment is filed with the Registrar in accordance with sub-section (8).
(5) No fresh offer or invitation under this section shall be made unless the allotments with respect to any offer or invitation made earlier have been completed or that offer or invitation has been withdrawn or abandoned by the company:
Provided that, subject to the maximum number of identified persons under sub-section (2), a company may, at any time, make more than one issue of securities to such class of identified persons .
(6) A company making an offer or invitation under this section shall allot its securities within sixty days from the date of receipt of the application money for such securities and if the company is not able to allot the securities within that period, it shall repay the application money to the subscribers within fifteen days from the expiry of sixty days and if the company fails to repay the application money within the aforesaid period, it shall be liable to repay that money with interest at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum from the expiry of the sixtieth day:
Provided that monies received on application under this section shall be kept in a separate bank account in a scheduled bank and shall not be utilised for any purpose other than—
(a) for adjustment against allotment of securities; or
(b) for the repayment of monies where the company is unable to allot securities.
(7) No company issuing securities under this section shall release any public advertisements or utilise any media, marketing or distribution channels or agents to inform the public at large about such an issue.
(8) A company making any allotment of securities under this section, shall file with the Registrar a return of allotment within fifteen days from the date of the allotment in such manner as may be prescribed, including a complete list of all allottees, with their full names, addresses, number of securities allotted and such other relevant information .
(9) If a company defaults in filing the return of allotment within the period prescribed under sub-section (8), the company, its promoters and directors shall be liable to a penalty for each default of one thousand rupees for each day during which such default continues but not exceeding twenty-five lakh rupees.
(10) Subject to sub-section (11), if a company makes an offer or accepts monies in contravention of this section, the company, its promoters and directors shall be liable for a penalty which may extend to the amount raised through the private placement or two crore rupees, whichever is lower, and the company shall also refund all monies with interest as specified in sub-section (6) to subscribers within a period of thirty days of the order imposing the penalty.
(11) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (9) and sub-section (10), any private placement issue not made in compliance of the provisions of sub-section (2) shall be deemed to be a public offer and all the provisions of this Act and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 shall be applicable.
Without prejudice to the provisions of section 26, may, subject to the provisions of this section, make private placement through issue of a private placement offer letter.
(2) Subject to sub-section (1), the offer of or invitation to subscribe securities, shall be made to such number of persons not exceeding fifty or such higher number ,(excluding qualified institutional buyers, and employees of the company being offered securities under a scheme of as per provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 62), in a and on such conditions (including the of private placement) .
Explanation I.—If a company, listed or unlisted, makes an offer to allot or invites subscription, or allots, or enters into an agreement to allot, securities to more than the prescribed number of persons whether the payment for the securities has been received or not or whether the company intends to list its securities or not on any in or outside India, the same shall be deemed to be an offer to the public and shall accordingly be governed by the provisions of Part I of this Chapter.
Explanation II.—For the purposes of this section, the expression—
(i) “qualified institutional buyer” means the “qualified institutional buyer” as defined in the of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirments) Regulations, 2009 as amended from time to time.
(ii) “private placement” means any offer of securities or invitation to subscribe securities to a select group of persons by a company (other than by way of public offer) through issue of a private placement offer letter and which satisfies the conditions specified in this section.
No fresh offer or invitation under this section shall be made unless the allotments with respect to any offer or invitation made earlier have been completed or that offer or invitation has been withdrawn or abandoned by the company.
(4) Any offer or invitation not in compliance with the provisions of this section shall be treated as a public offer and all provisions of this Act, and the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992) shall be required to be complied with.
(5) All monies payable towards subscription of securities under this section shall be paid through cheque or demand draft or other banking channels but not by cash.
(6) A company making an offer or invitation under this section shall allot its securities within from the date of receipt of the application money for such securities and if the company is not able to allot the securities within that period, it shall repay the application money to the subscribers within fifteen days from the date of completion of and if the company fails to repay the application money within the aforesaid period, it shall be liable to repay that money with interest at the rate of twelve per cent per annum from the expiry of the sixtieth day:
Provided that monies received on application under this section shall be kept in a separate bank account in a and shall not be utilised for any purpose other than—
(a) for adjustment against allotment of securities; or
(b) for the repayment of monies where the company is unable to allot securities.
All offers covered under this section shall be made only to such persons whose names are recorded by the company prior to the invitation to subscribe, and that such persons shall receive the offer by name, and that a complete record of such offers shall be kept by the company in such manner and complete information about such offer shall be filed with the within a period of thirty days of circulation of relevant private placement offer letter.
(8) No company offering securities under this section shall release any public advertisements or utilise any media, marketing or distribution channels or agents to inform the public at large about such an offer.
(9) Whenever a company makes any allotment of securities under this section, it shall file with the Registrar a return of allotment in such manner , including the complete list of all security-holders, with their full names, addresses, number of securities allotted and such other relevant information .
(10) If a company makes an offer or accepts monies in contravention of this section, the company, its and shall be liable for a penalty which may extend to the amount involved in the offer or invitation or two crore rupees, whichever is higher, and the company shall also refund all monies to subscribers within a period of thirty days of the order imposing the penalty.
Provided that on an application made by a company or body corporate, which is a holding company or a subsidiary of a company incorporated outside India and is required to follow a different financial year for consolidation of its accounts outside India, the Tribunal may, if it is satisfied, allow any period as its financial year, whether or not that period is a year:
Provided further that a company or body corporate, existing on the commencement of this Act, shall, within a period of two years from such commencement, align its financial year as per the provisions of this clause
Provided also that in case of a Specified IFSC public company, which is a subsidiary of a foreign company, the financial year of the subsidiary may be same as the financial year of its holding company and approval of the Tribunal shall not be required.
Provided also that in case of a Specified IFSC private company, which is a subsidiary of a foreign company, the financial year of the subsidiary may be same as the financial year of its holding company and approval of the Tribunal shall not be required.
(a) who has been named as such in a prospectus or is identified by the company in the annual return referred to in section 92; or
(b) who has control over the affairs of the company, directly or indirectly whether as a shareholder, director or otherwise; or
(c) in accordance with whose advice, directions or instructions the Board of Directors of the company is accustomed to act:
Provided that nothing in sub-clause (c) shall apply to a person who is acting merely in a professional capacity
3.1.14-Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules,2014
(1) For the purposes of sub-section (2) and sub-section (3) of section 42, a company shall not make an offer or invitation to subscribe to securities through private placement unless the proposal has been previously approved by the shareholders of the company, by a special resolution for each of the offers or invitations:
Provided that in the explanatory statement annexed to the notice for shareholders’ approval, the following disclosure shall be made:-
(a) particulars of the offer including date of passing of Board resolution;
(b) kinds of securities offered and the price at which security is being offered:
(c) basis or justification for the price (including premium, if any) at which the offer or invitation is being made;
(d) name and address of valuer who performed valuation;
(e) amount which the company intends to raise by way of such securities;
(f) material terms of raising such securities, proposed time schedule, purposes or objects of offer, contribution being made by the promoters or directors either as part of the offer or separately in furtherance of objects; principle terms of assets charged as securities:
Provided further that this sub-rule shall not apply in case of offer or invitation for non-convertible debentures, where the proposed amount to be raised through such offer or invitation does not exceed the limit as specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 180 and in such cases relevant Board resolution under clause (c) of subsection (3) of section 179 would be adequate:
Provided also that in case of offer or invitation for non-convertible debentures, where the proposed amount to be raised through such offer or invitation exceeds the limit as specified in clause (c) of sub-section (1) of section 180, it shall be sufficient if the company passes a previous special resolution only once in a year for all the offers or invitations for such debentures during the year.
in case of offer or invitation of any securities to qualified institutional buyers, it shall be sufficient if the company passes a previous special resolution only once in a year for all the allotments to such buyers during the year.
no offer or invitation of any securities under this rule shall be made to a body corporate incorporated in, or a national of, a country which shares a land border with India, unless such body corporate or the national, as the case may be, have obtained Government approval under the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 and attached the same with the private placement offer cum application letter.
(2) For the purpose of sub-section (2) of section 42, an offer or invitation to subscribe securities under private placement shall not be made to persons more than two hundred in the aggregate in a financial year:
Provided that any offer or invitation made to qualified institutional buyers, or to employees of the company under a scheme of employees stock option as per provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 62 shall not be considered while calculating the limit of two hundred persons.
Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-rule it is hereby clarified that the restrictions aforesaid would be reckoned individually for each kind of security that is equity share, preference share or debenture.
(3) A private placement offer cum application letter shall be in the form of an application in serially numbered and addressed specifically to the person to whom the offer is made and shall be sent to him, either in writing or in electronic mode, within thirty days of recording the name of such person pursuant to sub-section (3) of section 42:
Provided that no person other than the person so addressed in the private placement offer cum application letter shall be allowed to apply through such application form and any application not conforming to this condition shall be treated as invalid
(4) The company shall maintain a complete record of private placement offers in Form PAS-5.
(5) The payment to be made for subscription to securities shall be made from the bank account of the person subscribing to such securities and the company shall keep the record of the bank account from where such payment for subscription has been received:
Provided that monies payable on subscription to securities to be held by joint holders shall be paid from the bank account of the person whose name appears first in the application:
Provided further that the provisions of this sub-rule shall not apply in case of issue of shares for consideration other than cash.
(6) A return of allotment of securities under section 42 shall be filed with the Registrar within fifteen days of allotment in Form PAS-3 and with the fee as provided in the Companies (Registration offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 along with a complete list of all the allottees containing-
(i) the full name, address, permanent Account Number and E-mail ID of such security holder;
(ii) the class of security held;
(iii) the date of allotment of security ;
(iv) the number of securities held, nominal value and amount paid on such securities; and particulars of consideration received if tire securities were issued for consideration other than cash.
(7) The provisions of sub-rule (2) shall not be applicable to _
(a) non-banking financial companies which are registered with the Reserve Bank of India under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (2 of 1934); and
(b) housing Finance companies which are registered with the National Housing Bank under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987 (53 of 1987),
if they are complying with regulations made by the Reserve Bank of India or the National Housing Bank in respect of offer or invitation to be issued on private placement basis:
Provided that such companies shall comply with sub-rule (2) in case the Reserve Bank of India or the National Housing Bank have not specified similar regulations.
(8) A company shall issue private placement offer cum application letter only after the relevant special resolution or Board resolution has been filed in the Registry:
Provided that private companies shall file with the Registry copy of the Board resolution or special resolution with respect to approval under clause (c) of sub-section (3) of section 179.
(1)(a) For the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 42, a company may make an offer or invitation to subscribe to securities through issue of a private placement offer letter in
(b) A private placement offer letter shall be accompanied by an application form serially numbered and addressed specifically to the person to whom the offer is made and shall be sent to him, either in writing or in electronic mode, within thirty days of recording the names of such persons in accordance with sub-section (7) of section 42:
Provided that no person other than the person so addressed in the application form shall be allowed to apply through such application form and any application not conforming to this condition shall be treated as invalid.
(2) A company shall not make a private placement of its securities unless –
(a) the proposed offer of securities or invitation to subscribe securities has been previously approved by the shareholders of the company, by a Special Resolution, for each of the Offers or Invitations:
Provided that in the explanatory statement annexed to the notice for the general meeting the basis or justification for the price (including premium, if any) at which the offer or invitation is being made shall be disclosed:
Provided further that in case of offer or invitation for non-convertible debentures, it shall be sufficient if the company passes a previous special resolution only once in a year for all the offers or invitation for such debentures during the year.
(b) such offer or invitation shall be made to not more than two hundred persons in the aggregate in a financial year:
Provided that any offer or invitation made to qualified institutional buyers, or to employees of the company under a scheme of employees stock option as per provisions of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 62 shall not be considered while calculating the limit of two hundred persons;
Explanation.– For the purposes of this sub-rule, it is hereby clarified that –
(i) the restrictions under sub-clause (b) would be reckoned individually for each kind of security that is equity share, preference share or debenture;
(ii) the requirement of provisions of sub-section (3) of section 42 shall apply in respect of offer or invitation of each kind of security and no offer or invitation of another kind of security shall be made unless allotments with respect to offer or invitation made earlier in respect of any other kind of security is completed;
(c) the value of such offer or invitation per person shall be with an investment size of not less than twenty thousand rupees of face value of the securities;
(d) the payment to be made for subscription to securities shall be made from the bank account of the person subscribing to such securities and the company shall keep the record of the Bank account from where such payments for subscriptions have been received:
Provided that monies payable on subscription to securities to be held by joint holders shall be paid from the bank account of the person whose name appears first in the application.
(3) The company shall maintain a complete record of private placement offers in
Provided that a copy of such record along with the private placement offer letter in shall be filed with the Registrar with fee as provided in Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 and where the company is listed, with the Securities and Exchange Board within a period of thirty days of circulation of the private placement offer letter.
Explanation.- For the purpose of this rule, it is hereby clarified that the date of private placement offer letter shall be deemed to be the date of circulation of private placement offer letter.
(4) A return of allotment of securities under section 42 shall be filed with the Registrar within thirty days of allotment in and with the fee as provided in the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014 along with a complete list of all security holders containing-
(i) the full name, address, Permanent Account Number and E-mail ID of such security holder;
(ii) the class of security held;
(iii) the date of allotment of security ;
(iv) the number of securities held, nominal value and amount paid on such securities; and particulars of consideration received if the securities were issued for consideration other than cash.
(5) The provisions of clauses (b) and (c) of sub-rule (2) shall not be applicable to –
(a) non-banking financial companies which are registered with the Reserve Bank of India under Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934; and
(b) housing finance companies which are registered with the National Housing Bank under National Housing Bank Act, 1987, if they are complying with regulations made by Reserve Bank of India or National Housing Bank in respect of offer or invitation to be issued on private placement basis:
Provided that such companies shall comply with sub-clauses (b) and (c) of sub-rule (2) in case the Reserve Bank of India or the National Housing Bank have not specified similar regulations.
- Substituted vide MCA Notification dated 05.05.2022 regarding Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Amendment Rules, 2022. To view the form, Click here.
- Substituted vide the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Second Amendment Rules, 2018 dated 7.08.2018. To view the Form, Click Here
Commencement notification to section 10 of Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 dated 7.08.2018
Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Amendment Rules, 2014 [GSR 424(E)] dated 30/06/2014
Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Amendment Rules, 2020 dated 16.10.2020
Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Amendment Rules, 2022 dated 05.05.2022
Enforcement Notification S.O. 902(E) dated 26/03/2014
Exemption to Nidhi Companies [G.S.R 465(E)] dated 05/06/2015
Exemption to Specified IFSC Private company [GSR 09(E)] dated 04/01/2017
Exemption to Specified IFSC Public company [GSR 08(E)] dated 04/01/2017
The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 (Effective from 03.01.2018)