JSW Steel has deferred the open offer for picking an additional stake of 20 per cent in Ispat Industries. The revised schedule for the open offer would be announced separately after receiving Sebi’s approval, JSW Steel said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The open offer was earlier scheduled to hit the market on February 12.
“The shareholders of the target company are requested to note that the date of opening of the offer and other relevant dates mentioned in the public announcement under ‘schedule of the activities pertaining to the offer’ will undergo a change and the revised schedule of activities will be announced separately after receiving Sebi’s approval to the letter of offer,” said the JSW filing.
In December, the company had entered into a Rs 2,157-crore deal with Ispat to acquire a 41.29 per cent stake in the latter through preferential issue of fresh shares at a price of Rs 19.85 apiece. The deal has an enterprise value of about Rs 12,000 crore after paying all the debts and a working capital loan of Ispat Industries, estimated to be of Rs 9,500-9,700 crore.
Enam Securities, which is managing the open offer, had, in a public announcement in December, said that the mandatory open offer to pick up an additional 20 per cent stake would be launched between February 12 and March 3, at a price of Rs 20.54 a share in Ispat Industries. Through the open offer, JSW Steel has proposed to acquire 64.72 crore shares of Ispat, at a face value of Rs 10 each.
The open offer would cost JSW Rs 1,329.43 crore, which, after the acquisition, would be the largest domestic steel producer, the announcement said.
According to Sebi guidelines, any company buying more than 15 per cent in another firm will have to make an offer to buy 20 per cent additional stake. JSW shares were up by 0.8 per cent at Rs 904 apiece, while Ispat’s scrips were traded at Rs 24.4 per share, up 0.21 per cent.