FORM 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
Report of Foreign Private Issuer
Pursuant to Rule 13a - 16 or 15d - 16
of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of June
HSBC Holdings plc
42nd Floor, 8 Canada Square, London
E14 5HQ, England
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F).
Form 20-F X
Form 40-F
......
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant
by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the
information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934).
Yes.......
No X
(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file
number assigned to the registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2(b): 82-
..............).
MINORITY SHAREHOLDERS
'
INTEREST IN INVESTSMART
HSBC intends to make an offer to acquire from minority shareholders the remaining
6.14 per cent of Investsmart it does not currently own and to delist Investsmart
shares from the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India (the
"delisting offer"). During 2008, HSBC acquired 93.86 per cent of IL&FS
Investsmart Limited (Investsmart) through its subsidiaries HSBC Securities and
Capital Markets (India) Private Limited and HSBC Violet Investments (Mauritius)
Limited for a total consideration of INR1,396.3 crore.
The launch of the delisting offer is conditional upon, amongst other things, the
approval of the
Investsmart Board of Directors, its shareholders and the stock exchanges where the
shares are listed, in accordance with
the Securities Exchange Board of India (Delisting of Equity Shares)
Regulations, 2009 ("SEBI Regulations").
The delisting offer price will be determined by a reverse book building process as
prescribed under the SEBI Regulations, which allows shareholders to tender their
shares at a price of their choice,
subject to a floor price determined as per the SEBI
Regulations. The final price is determined as the price at which the maximum number
of shares is tendered. Concurrently, the purchaser retains the right to accept or
reject this price.
The Investsmart Board has today advised the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National
Stock Exchange of India of the delisting proposal. The Investsmart Board today has
also written to the Luxembourg Stock Exchange indicating its intention to withdraw
the listing of its Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). Investsmart does
not have any GDRs outstanding.
A further announcement will be made as and when appropriate.
1. IL&FS Investsmart Limited
IL&FS Investsmart Group (IIL) is one of
India's leading financial services organisations. IIL, through its subsidiaries
in
India
and
Singapore, provides a wide range of investment products to its retail and
institutional clients including equity broking, investment banking, insurance
broking and distribution, mutual funds distribution and related financing services.
IIL's 1,500 employees provide a complete range of investment services to over
160,000 customers in
India
through its 77
branches and 153
franchisee outlets from over 50
cities. It has been recognised as
'National Best Performing Financial Advisor - Retail'
for two years in a row (2006-07 and 2007-08) by CNBC TV 18. Investsmart is
listed on the National Stock Exchange and the Bombay Stock Exchange and its Global
Depository Shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. HSBC currently holds
a 93.86
per cent
stake in the company.
HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in
London
. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 9,500 offices in 86 countries
and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the
Americas
, the Middle East and
Africa
. With assets of US$2,527 billion at
31 December 2008
, HSBC is one of the world
'
s largest banking and financial services organisations.
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
HSBC Holdings plc
By:
Name: P A Stafford
Title: Assistant Group Secretary
Date:
16 June 2009