Wartsila Corp of Finland is likely to succeed in taking its stake in Wartsila India to above 90 per cent with the Life Insurance Corporation and Oriental Insurance agreeing to sell their stake in the open offer made by the Finnish company. Priced at Rs 120 per share, the open offer closes on June 25. Wartsila Corp had a 84.76 per cent stake in Wartsila India. It had made an open offer for the remaining 15.24 per cent shares.
The idea behind the open offer was to take the stake of the parent to above 90 per cent and get the company delisted from the stock exchange. According to sources, Wartsila has already mopped up some 130,000 shares in the open offer.
It is learnt that LIC and Oriental Insurance have shown their willingness to tender their shares in the open offer. While the LIC holds a seven per cent stake in Wartsila India, Oriental Insurance holds another two per cent. This is expected to take the stake of Wartsila Corp to above 90 per cent. Guidelines laid down by the Securities & Exchange Board of India says that a company can be delisted if the stake of the promoter crosses 90 per cent.
