The Hindu Business Line : Five FIIs take stake in Assam Company

According to the company management, other overseas investors in Assam Co as on August 24 were Quantam-Mauritius (1.23 crore shares or 5.50 per cent) and Macquarie Bank (53.05 lakh shares or 2.37 per cent).

The non-promoter holding in the company as of June 30 was 42.95 per cent.

Goldman Sachs Investments (Mauritius) purchased 29,77,780 shares in August, representing 1.33 per cent of the equity base – the highest among the five – followed by Global Investment House Co.

Through its proprietary account, Global Asia Fund Ltd (Mauritius), it picked up 26,23,346 shares or 1.17 per cent of the current voting rights.

Other entrants are Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Espana SASV (10.93 lakh shares), Credit Swisse (Singapore) Ltd (9.8 lakh shares) and Citi Global Markets Mauritius Pvt Ltd (8,85,505 shares).

Fund-raising abroad

Mr Abhay Chawdhry, Director and CFO, told Business Line that the company has not yet finalised the fresh capital-raising plan.

At its last AGM on June 30, the company obtained shareholders’ approval on an enabling resolution to raise funds overseas up to a limit of $200 million.

The broad mentioned instruments were FCCBs and depository receipts in the resolutions.

It also proposed to list such instruments in overseas exchanges.

Mr Chawdhry, however, said the overseas fund-raising exercise, exclusively meant for oil and gas business expansion, would be undertaken this year.

Two options currently being pursued are depository receipts with listing on the AIM segment of London Stock Exchange and FCCBs with listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Apart from this, the company had received shareholders’ nod for proposed issue of 1.80 crore warrants of face value of Re 1 each to domestic investors including institutional investors.

Further, a proposal for issue of 14 crore warrants to foreign investors was also cleared by the shareholders.

Proposal for placement of unspecified number of Re 1 warrants, convertible into equity share of Re 1 each, to promoters and associates was also approved at the AGM.

Assam Company, the first tea plantation entity in the country, has obtained two minor oil and gas fields from ONGC in Assam.

In both the fields it is carrying out the exploration work as a resource-sharing junior partner with Canoro, a listed Canadian company.

Though the BSE Small Cap index component today declined by five per cent to Rs 24.80, in the past month it has improved by over 40 per cent on the BSE.

In the past fortnight, its average daily traded quantity was over 10 lakh shares.

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