Tatas sell Stewarts stake to Indian Oil venture

The Tata group has pulled out of Stewarts and Lloyds of India by offloading its entire 54.9 per cent stake to Indian Oil Tanking.

The Tatas held 1.69 million equity shares in Stewarts and Lloyds through Tata Steel and two of its subsidiaries. Sources in Tata Steel said the company sold its stake for over Rs 4 crore.

The Stewarts and Lloyds scrip today closed at Rs 32.4 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

While Tata Steel directly held around 10 per cent in Stewarts & Lloyds, its two wholly-owned subsidiaries Kalimati Investment Company and Tata Refractories held 39.9 per cent and 5 per cent stake respectively.

Started in 1934 by Stewarts & Lloyds, UK, the company went public in 1962. Tata Steel acquired a majority stake in 1992, thereby making it a subsidiary.

Stewarts & Lloyds posted a net profit of Rs 4 crore for the year ended March 31, 2004, compared with a net profit of around Rs 1 crore for the year ended March 31, 2003. The company's net sales stood at Rs 50.55 crore, against Rs 30.25 crore, for the financial year ended March 31, 2003.

Around 16 per cent of the company's stake is held by mutual funds and financial institutions, around 18 per cent is held by the Indian public, while the balance 9 per cent is held by corporate bodies.