Dredging Corp kicks off roadshow

Dredging Corporation on Friday announced it will offer for sale 56,00,000 equity shares, making up 20 per cent of the fully diluted post-offer paid up capital.

Further, as in the case of other floats like IPCL and GAIL the government has the option of offering the shares to retail bidders at a discount.

With this offering, the government of India's holding would come down to 78.56 per cent of the post-issue capital.

The offer will open on February 26 and will close on March 4, through the 100 per cent book building route. The Dredging Corporation scrip closed 1.75 per cent higher at Rs 523.30 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Launching the roadshows, chairman and managing director N K Gupta said, "A maximum of 50 per cent of the offer shall be offered on a discretionary basis to qualified institutional buyers. Further, not less than 25 per cent of the offer shall be available for allocation on a proportionate basis to non-institutional bidders and 25 per cent shall be available on proportionate basis to retail individual bidders."

The corporation had a market share of about 89 per cent of the estimated 65 million cubic meter major port dredging market in India in 2002-03.

The income and adjusted profit after tax of the company for the six months ended September 30, 2003, was Rs 252 crore up from Rs 219 crore and Rs 77.61 crore up for Rs 53.62 crore, respectively.

Kotak Mahindra Capital Company Ltd and Enam Financial Consultants Pvt Ltd are book running lead managers to the issue.

Dredging Corporation has roped in global consultancy major PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PWC) to advise it in the modalities of a strategic alliance.

"The alliance could take the shape of a joint venture. Practically all the international dredging companies operating in India are talking to us," Gupta said.