Aditya Birla Group stocks jump up to 20% on apparel biz merger

Shares of Pantaloons Fashion & Retail and Aditya Birla Nuvo today gained up to 20 per cent, a day after Aditya Birla Group merged its apparel businesses into a Rs 5,290-crore entity named Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail.
Pantaloons Fashion jumped 19.92 per cent to Rs 136.60 -- its upper circuit limit on the BSE, while Aditya Birla Nuvo surged 12.94 per cent to Rs 1,773.55.
In a major consolidation exercise, Aditya Birla Group yesterday merged its apparel businesses into a Rs 5,290-crore entity named Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL), which will be the largest pure-play fashion lifestyle company in the the country.

Under the scheme of arrangement approved yesterday by the boards of respective companies, the apparel businesses of the group holding company Aditya Birla Nuvo (ABNL) and of another group firm Madura Garments Lifestyle Retail Company Ltd (MGLRCL) would be demerged into listed firm Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd (PFRL).
The new entity will have a retail network of 1,869 exclusive stores.
According to the swap-ratio recommended by two independent valuers -- Price Waterhouse and Co LLP and Bansi Mehta and Co -- shareholders of ABNL will get 26 new equity shares of PFRL for every 5 equity shares held in ABNL, pursuant to the demerger of Madura Fashion.

Shareholders of MGLRCL will get seven new equity shares of PFRL for every 500 equity shares held in MGLRCL, pursuant to the demerger of Madura Lifestyle.
Preference shareholder of MGLRCL will get one new equity share of PFRL.