Leyland, M&M top PTL bids

Mumbai-based utility vehicles maker Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) and Chennai-based commercial vehicles maker Ashok Leyland have emerged as the frontrunners to acquire the 49 per cent stake in tractor maker Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL) that has been put on the block by private equity fund Actis and New Delhi-based Burman family.

The bids are believed to have been submitted on Monday and the announcement of the winning bidder is expected shortly. Sources said the bid of Ashok Leyland, controlled by the Hinduja group, was in the range of Rs 300-320 a share, in line with the ruling market price of the stock. The Ashok Leyland bid demands some guarantees from the management.

Details of M&M's bid were not known. According to sources, the bidders for the controlling stake were unwilling to give a handsome premium over the ruling market price in the absence of a certain warranty from the company's management. "This is a peculiar situation where two investors (Actis and the Burmans) want to cash out while the management does not want to stand guarantee for certain liabilities of the company," said sources.

The company is embroiled in a legal tussle with a foreign company and an Indian one.