MP Birla group ups Vindhya Tele stake

M P Birla group is increasing its stake in the group company Vindhya Telelinks Ltd (VTL) through creeping acquisition.

Market sources said the promoter group has picked up around 2.5 per cent stake in VTL in the third and fourth weeks of September.

The M P Birla group holding in the outfit is around 48 per cent, just short of a controlling stake. Madhya Pradesh State Industrial Development Corporation, which is the co-promoter, holds around 2.7 per cent in the firm.

According to market sources, the M P Birla group picked up majority of the shares through group firms Punjab Produce Holdings and Trilochan Vyapaar between September 20 and September 24.

"Punjab Produce purchased around 1.15 lakh and Trilochan Vyapaar purchased around 1.3 lakh shares of VTL during the period. Trilochan and Punjab Produce, taken together now hold around 2.3 per cent in VTL. The value of the recent purchases in VTL would be somewhere near Rs 1.6 crore. The company might have picked up further stake after that through other group entities or person acting in concert," a market operator said.

Market experts feel that the more than 100 per cent appreciation in the scrip last one month, from Rs 30-34 to Rs 68-70, is largely owing to the creeping acquisition. Incidentally, the scrip hit the circuit breaker couple of times over the last few weeks.

The scrip closed at Rs 70.65 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday, which is close to its 52-week high of Rs 80. The volume in the counter was around 1.17 lakh with a value of Rs 80 lakh on the NSE.

Incidentally, VTL booked a loss of Rs 13 crore in 2003-04. The company is still in the red with a loss of Rs 37 lakh in the first quarter of 2004-05.

The company has a negative earning per share of 11.68. Vindhya Telelinks Ltd recently informed the bourses that the company has made applications to the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange and the Kolkata Stock Exchange Association Ltd for voluntary delisting of its shares.