ASE Capital to sell BSE shares

ASE Capital Markets (ACML), a subsidiary of The Ahmedabad Stock Exchange, the second oldest bourse in India, is selling a part of its holding in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) "� the second time in less than 12 months.

The stake sale, if it goes through, will be the first open market sale of BSE shares after the oldest Asian bourse demutualised last May when it sold 51 per cent stake to strategic and financial investors including Germany's Deutsche Borse and the Singapore Exchange.

ACML had sold 3,000 shares at the time of the demutualisation last May. This time around, it will sell another 2,500 shares.

Sources said ACML has invited bids from interested parties for purchase of the BSE shares recently.

Currently, ACML has a net worth of Rs 10 crore which it fears might decrease in near future and hence the move to sell more BSE shares.

"If our net worth goes below Rs 10 crore, we can open demat accounts which have a gross exposure of not more than 100 times the value. For example, if ACML has Rs 8 crore net worth, we can open demat accounts which have exposure of not more than Rs 800 crore. There is no limit for net worth above Rs 10 crore," sources in ACML said. ACML had about 7,000 shares of BSE after it sold about 3,000 at the time of the demutualisation.

A circular dated February 22 issued by ACML decided to revise the minimum bid price for sale of BSE shares at Rs 6,100 apiece.

At Rs 6,100 a share, ACML will get Rs 1.525 crore from the sale 2,500 shares.

The Ahmedabad Stock Exchange was established as a public charitable trust in 1894 following the establishment of the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1875.