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Kohinoor Mandal

Kolkata , Dec. 15

WILLIAMSON Tea Assam Ltd is in the news because of reports that its promoters, the UK-based Magors, are prepared to hive off their share in the company. Among others, a leading multinational company (MNC) with operations in India including the tea sector has shown an interest in buying out the Magor stake.

According to informed sources, Mr Philip Magor is trying to strike a deal with the MNC, which may be struck at the global level. In the last few years, this company has been regularly acquiring gardens after the Union government allowed plantation ownership to foreign companies.

Williamson Tea Assam, which was earlier known as George Williamson (Assam) Ltd, owns 14 gardens producing 20 million kg. All these are well-known gardens with high yields. Industry sources said these gardens had registered good results during 2003.

At present, the acquisition price in North India is approximately Rs 125-150 per kg of tea produced by the garden in question. Going by this yardstick, the Magor stake can easily fetch a price of Rs 250-300 crore.

The Magors are holding their stake in Williamson Tea Assam through the UK-based Borelli Tea Holdings Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Williamson Tea Holdings plc. The Magors hold 70 per cent stake in Williamson Tea Assam.

On Monday, a section of the press reported that a handful of Indian companies were interested in buying out the Magor stake. However, sources said, such a deal was unlikely. "Instead, it appears that an MNC may buy out the stake," sources said.

Talking to Business Line over the telephone from UK, Mr Magor, however, rubbished the recent reports pertaining to the stake sell off. He said pointedly that it was a "load of old cobblers", that is, `nonsense'.

When asked about the report that ICICI and Rabo were making presentations at his office, Mr Magor said: "I have two persons in front of me, one is the photograph of my wife and the other is that of my son." To the question whether his company was committed to its Indian operations, he said: "I am not telling you anything more. Whatever I have said is on record and I will not make any further comment".

Two of the reported interested parties, namely Tata Tea and Rossell Tea, have denied holding any dialogue with the Magors. "There are all sorts of rumours floating in the industry," Mr P.T. Siganporia, Deputy MD of Tata Tea, told Business Line. Mr Harsh M. Gupta, Executive Chairman of Rossell, gave a similar reply.

Meanwhile, the Williamson Tea Assam scrip has witnessed extreme volatility in the last two months. On Monday, it registered a 52-week high, both at BSE and the NSE, to close at Rs 99.05 and Rs 99.50 respectively. Large volumes of shares are being traded regularly at this counter.

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