Warrants can be either detachable, meaning they can be sold or transferred separately from the associated security, or non-detachable, meaning they must remain attached until exercised or expired.
Detachable warrants allow investors to separate and trade them based on market conditions, potentially increasing liquidity and investment returns. For businesses, issuing detachable warrants can attract investors by offering additional upside potential.
The act of conversion of warrants to equity shares will be in the nature of an acquisition (akin to buy trades). Therefore, any sale transaction prior to passing of six months from the date of allotment of shares (pursuant to conversion of warrants into equity shares) shall attract the restriction of contra-trade. 3.3.
Unlike detachable warrants, undetachable ones cannot be separated from their underlying securities. This means investors who hold these types of warrants must sell both the warrants and the underlying assets at the same time.
The two main rules to account for stock warrants are that the issuer must recognize the fair value of the equity instruments issued or the fair value of the consideration received, whichever can be more reliably measured; and recognize the asset or expense related to the provided goods or services at the same time.