NYSE halts trade in Azure Global, and the delisting procedure to start

The New York Stock Exchange said on July 13 that trading in Azure Power Global shares had been stopped due to the Indian renewable energy producer’s failure to meet the deadline of July 15 for disclosing its FY-22 financial results.

Because the company is a late filer and has not submitted its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022, as well as its current report on Form 6-K for the half year ended September 30, 2022, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) said it has decided that the company’s equity shares are not suitable for listing. The company had alerted the stock exchange on July 13 that it would not be able to finish its filings by August 16, the latest date the bourse would permit.

Nearly two weeks before the deadline to submit the audited results, on July 10, SR Batliboi & Co, an Ernst & Young Global affiliate, “resigned” as statutory auditors. In place of SR Batliboi & Co., MSKA & Associate, a subsidiary of BDO International, has been chosen to serve as Azure Power India Pvt Ltd.’s statutory auditors.

The delisting of Azure Power Global will begin, the NYSE announced on Thursday after trading hours. Delisting of the shares entails a covenant violation and results in a technical default on the two offshore bonds issued by Azure Power Global, with $350 million due in 2024 and $414 million due in 2026. Two different special purpose vehicles of NYSE-listed Azure issued the bonds.