Dish TV stock zooms 20% in 2 sessions; here’s why

Shares of broadcast satellite service provider Dish TV extended their gaining streak for the second day and rose 10% in opening trade on Tuesday after Chairman Jawahar Lal Goel, the younger brother of Essel Group founder Subhash Chandra, resigned from the company's board. The stock has rallied 20% in two sessions as the exit of the promoter family Essel Group is being seen as a win for top shareholder YES Bank, which has been pushing for a board overhaul. The resignation of Goel paves the way for YES Bank, which holds a 25% stake in Dish TV, to take charge of the board of the direct-to-home (DTH) service provider.

“We wish to inform you that Jawahar Lal Goel, Director of the Company, vide his letter dated September 19, 2022, has tendered his resignation from the Board of Directors of the Company and committee(s) thereof with effect from the close of business hours of September 19, 2022. Consequently, he shall cease to be the Chairman of the Board,” Dish TV said in an exchange filing during market hours on Monday.

Reacting to the news, Dish TV share price opened with a gain of 6.74% at ₹17.90 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), against the previous closing price of ₹16.77. In the first hour of trade so far, the smallcap stock rose as much as 9.96% to ₹18.44. The market capitalisation climbed to ₹3,325.30 crore as 13.4 lakh shares changed hands over the counter on the BSE, as compared to the two-week average volume of 12.66 lakh stocks. In comparison, the BSE Sensex was up 687 points at 59,829 levels, following strong cues from global peers.

The counter hit a 52-week high of ₹22.95 on September 27, 2021, and a 52-week low of ₹10.23 on June 20, 2022. In the past one year, the stock has delivered a negative return of 8%, while it has fallen 4.7% in the calendar year 2022. The stock has zoomed 61% in the past one month, from ₹11.45 on August 22, to ₹18.44 intraday today, after the promoter family Essel Group agreed to step down from the company’s board.

Earlier this month, Dish TV had announced that Goel would not seek a re-appointment on its board and independent director Bhagwan Das Narang would step down after his term expired. At the company’s extraordinary general meeting in June this year, over three-fourths of shareholders had voted against the reappointment of Goel as the managing director of the board.

Dish TV also agreed to appoint three independent directors - Girish Paranjpe, Arvindnachya Chandranachya, and Madan Mohanlal Verma - proposed by YES Bank. They were part of the seven directors YES Bank had proposed in its letter dated 5 September 2021, when the private lender alleged about corporate misgovernance and sought an overhaul of Dish TV’s board.

In May 2020, YES Bank had acquired a 24.19% stake in Dish TV by invocation of 44.53 crore pledged shares. Ason date, Dish TV promoters owned a 4.04% stake in the company, while YES Bank held 24.78% shares. Among others, foreign portfolio investors and mutual funds owned10.7% and 1.59% shares, respectively, while the remaining were held by individual investors.