Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital Merger October 20, 2026: November 18 Record Date for the 23-for-2 Swap

The Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital merger now has dates. On October 20, 2026, the boards of Dr. Agarwal’s Health Care Limited (AHCL) and its listed subsidiary Dr. Agarwal’s Eye Hospital Limited (AEHL) told the exchanges that the amalgamation becomes effective on November 1, 2026, and that Wednesday, November 18, 2026 is the record date for deciding which AEHL shareholders get new AHCL shares.

The swap itself hasn’t changed: 23 AHCL shares of ₹1 face value for every 2 AEHL shares of ₹10 face value, as set out in AHCL’s board outcome filed with NSE and BSE.

Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital merger: what the boards approved

Both boards met on Tuesday evening. AEHL’s met first, from 4:50 PM to 5:10 PM IST, and AHCL’s followed from 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM. Their filings line up on the key points:

• The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Chennai Bench, sanctioned the scheme in an order dated September 30, 2026. Both boards have now taken the certified copy on record.
• The certified order has been filed with the Registrar of Companies in Chennai, and with that, the boards say, every condition under Clause 24 of the scheme is met.
• The scheme is operative from November 1, 2026, with an appointed date of April 1, 2026. So, for accounting, the merger counts from the start of this financial year.
• AHCL’s authorised equity capital rises from ₹54.20 crore to ₹74.20 crore once AEHL’s ₹20 crore of authorised capital is folded in. Including preference capital, the total goes from ₹90 crore to ₹110 crore.

AEHL’s own filing with BSE adds the part that matters for its board: under Clause 23 of the scheme, AEHL is dissolved without winding up from November 1, and its board ceases to exist that day.

How the long road got here

This merger wasn’t a surprise. AHCL listed on February 4, 2025, and its prospectus said it would look at merging with AEHL within three years of listing. The scheme document spells this out, and it also states that AHCL held 71.90% of AEHL’s paid-up equity as on June 30, 2025.

The swap ratio comes from a joint valuation report dated August 26, 2025 by PwC Business Consulting Services and Bansi S Mehta Valuers, backed by fairness opinions from Kotak Mahindra Capital and Motilal Oswal Investment Advisors. The NCLT order shows the tribunal called shareholder and creditor meetings in May 2026 and heard the second motion petition filed on July 8, before sanctioning the deal on September 30. AEHL told BSE about the sanction on October 5.

The reasons the companies give are the familiar ones for folding a subsidiary into its parent: one capital structure, one board, less duplicated paperwork, and, they say, EPS accretion from the first year.

What it means for AEHL shareholders

If you hold AEHL in your demat account at the end of November 18, you’re in. The arithmetic is simple. 100 AEHL shares become 1,150 AHCL shares (100 × 23 ÷ 2). Odd holdings throw up fractions: 15 AEHL shares work out to 172.5 AHCL shares. Under Clause 18.6 of the scheme, you get 172, and the half share is pooled with everyone else’s fractions, sold by a trustee on the exchanges, and the net cash is paid out.

The AEHL shares that AHCL already owns aren’t swapped. The scheme cancels them, so new AHCL shares go only to the minority holders. The new shares rank equally with existing AHCL shares, including for dividends.

There’s one practical thing to watch. Under T+1 settlement, a buy has to settle by the record date to count, a point we unpack in our piece on ex-dividend date vs record date. Keep an eye on BSE for the notice on AEHL’s last trading day, and remember the new AHCL shares can trade only after the exchanges approve their listing. A merger swap moves your cost base too. Our guide to demerger record dates and cost splits covers the mirror-image case.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not investment advice. Details are taken from the companies’ exchange filings, the scheme of amalgamation and the NCLT order linked above. Please do your own research or consult a SEBI-registered adviser before investing.