Comments
In a bid to take control over dry cell battery maker Eveready Industries India Ltd, the Burmans, promoters of Dabur India, on Monday announced that they have made an open offer for acquiring an additional 26 per cent in the company, a flagship of the BM Khaitan group.
The Burman group entities plan to acquire upto 18.9 million shares for a total consideration of ₹605 crore.
In a notification to stock exchanges on Monday, JM Financial, the manager to the offer, said: “Puran Associates Pvt Ltd (‘Acquirer 1’), VIC Enterprises Pvt Ltd (‘Acquirer 2’), MB Finmart Pvt Ltd (‘Acquirer 3’), together with, Gyan Enterprises Private Limited (‘PAC 1’ ) and Chowdry Associates (‘PAC 2’) have announced an open offer for acquiring up to 1,88,98,688 fully paid-up equity shares of face value of ₹5 each from the public shareholders of target company, representing 26 per cent of the expanded voting share capital at a price of ₹320 per offer share aggregating to a total consideration of ₹605 crore payable in cash.”
As on December 31, the promoters’ shareholding in Eveready was at 4.84 per cent. Burmans hold 19.84 per cent stake in the company at present.
“We have been monitoring the situation of the company and felt that now is an appropriate time to step in. The company needs direction and the brand has immense potential. We feel we will be able to add value and take this business to the next level,” Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman, Dabur India, said in a statement.
When contacted, Amritanshu Khaitan, MD, Eveready, declined to comment.
According to informed sources, the Burman family has sought r three board seats and may also look to appoint a Chairman, post the open offer according to SEBI guidelines.
Eveready’s debt burden stood at ₹418 crore as of March 31, 2021. It is to be noted that the company had extended a slew of inter corporate deposits (ICDs) to some of the other BM Khaitan group companies. In Q4 FY21 (Jan-Mar), it made full provisions for ICDs and corporate guarantees given to group entities over the years by taking a one-time hit of nearly ₹630 crore. Provisioning included ₹489 crore on account of ICDs, corporate guarantees and interest of ₹69 crore thereof; and also provided for ₹72 crore given as advance to a third party for a land parcel.
Eveready’s scrip closed at ₹376.35, up 10.42 per cent, on the BSE on Monday.
.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.