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L&T has come up with an open offer to acquire 31 per cent in IT services firm Mindtree for ₹5,029 crore.
The price of the open offer is expected to be the same as before — ₹980 per share — which was announced when L&T became the majority shareholder in the Bengaluru-based mid-sized company by acquiring VG Siddhartha’s 20.32 per cent stake for ₹3,300 crore. The tendering period starts from June 17 and will end on July 12, L&T said in a filing with the exchanges.
By making this open offer, L&T intends to own around 66 per cent in Mindtree. This development comes a month after L&T was scheduled to have made its offer to Mindtree shareholders. So far, L&T has mopped up close to 29 per cent in Mindtree, and with the 31 per cent bid, it will take its total shareholding to 60 per cent.
SEBI’s nod comes at a time when the regulator is learnt to be scrutinising the conditions around L&T’s open offer, which Mindtree promoters had contested.
As per SEBI’s Substantial Acquisition of Shares & Takeovers (SAST) regulations, a company can trigger the open offer only when it crosses the threshold of 25 per cent voting rights. Mindtree had sought a clarification from SEBI on the legality of such an offer, as it believed L&T did not have the required stake.
Once the threshold is reached, the acquiring company must make an offer to the existing shareholders to buy an additional 20 per cent stake in the acquiree company.
Since the news of the open offer first came up, Mindtree has set up a committee consisting of four Independent Directors as per SAST regulations, to weigh in on the offer.
Mindtree’s AGM is scheduled for July 16.
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