The Gouri Prasad Goenka-group controlled Andhra Cement is likely to be delisted from the bourses with the public shareholding falling below the Sebi-prescribed minimum level of 10 per cent.
Minority shareholders held only 4.2 per cent as on December 31, 2001. The combined stake of the promoters--Indian as well as foreign--stood at 93.45 per cent on that date. The balance was held by mutual funds and Unit Trust of India, banks, private corporate bodies and non-resident Indians along with overseas corporate bodies.
Group chairman G P Goenka said the management had informed exchanges that public shareholding had gone down to as low as 4.2 per cent.
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"The onus is on the exchanges. They have to decide whether they will delist the company," Goenka said.
The ailing cement maker is now listed on the Mumbai, Hyderabad and Delhi stock exchanges after delisting itself from the Calcutta, Bangalore and Madras bourses couple of years back.
Goenka said the company had no plan to offer more shares to the public to conform to the 10 per cent level, which would enable it to continue as a listed entity.
Sebi regulations has put a floor level of 10 per cent shareholding by public for a listed company. The regulations also allow promoters six months to conform to the norms in case the public shareholding falls short of the mandatory requirement.
However, the public holding in the company has been below 10 per cent at least for a year. Now, if Andhra Cement gets delisted from the bourses, it will have to offer an exit option to existing shareholders at a predetermined rate.
The Rs 10 paid-up equity of the company has been hovering around Rs 5. In fact, there is little trading at the counter.
Meanwhile, Goenka said, the company has submitted a revised rehabilitation scheme with one time settlement to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction. The scheme submitted last year also included sale of unproductive / surplus assets and induction of additional funds.
Promoters have injected Rs 66.70 crore last year and a further Rs 1.30 crore was inducted during the year.
The company is operating under a sanctioned rehabilitation scheme of the BIFR, dated June 16, 1994.