Tayals Offer To Buy Back 20% Equity Of Bor

The Bank of Rajasthan promoters, the Tayals, have offered to buy back 20 per cent of the bank's equity through the swap route. Under the Securities & Excha- nge Board of India (Substantial Acquisition of Shares and Takeovers) Regulations, 1997, Eskay K 'n' IT (India) Ltd (ESKAY), Shree Krishna Polyester Ltd (SKPL) and the Tayals have offered to acquire 1,25,54,750 shares of the bank in exchange ESKAY and SKPL shares. The swap ratio has been fixed at 10 shares of BoR for three shares of ESKAY and 10 shares of SKPL. All the three shares have the face value of Rs 10 each. This is the first instance of a promoter using the swap route to buyback shares, merchant banking sources said. Keynote Corporate Services Ltd is managing the offer. The Tayals are offering equity shares of ESKAY and SKPL in exchange of equity shares of BoR in lieu of cash payment. The value of shares has been determined in accordance with the Regulation 20(2) of the Sebi rule, sources said. The average of the weekly high and low of the closing prices of BoR shares on BSE during the 26 weeks preceding the open offer works out to Rs 19.40. For the purpose of exchange ratio, the average of the weekly high and low of the closing prices of ESKAY and SKPL shares during the preceding 26 weeks were Rs 34.14 and Rs 12.68, respectively. Following this route, the value of BoR scrip works out to Rs 22.92, a company source said. On Friday, BoR scrip closed at Rs 16.80 and the market cap was pegged at Rs 105.44 crore. The closing price of ESKAY was Rs 21.30 (market cap: Rs 60 crore) and SKPL Rs 7 (market cap: Rs 71.57 crore). The Tayals along with these outfits currently hold 24.52 per cent of BoR's equity. In addition to that, Shree Krishna group holds 1.17 per cent equity in BoR which were pledged with the group as collateral security against loans given to a body corporate. The promoters also hold 1,49,54,240 detachable warrants offered in terms of the BoR rights issue. Post conversion of the warrants, the promoters' holding in the bank will go up to 28.20 per cent. The buyback offer will open on October 6 and close on November 4. BoR has posted a net profit of Rs 12.24 crore on a total income of Rs 123.40 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal. The return on networth is 11.08 per cent, book value Rs 17.36 per share, earning per share Rs 1.92 and the price earning ratio 8.98. Its net worth is pegged at Rs 108.94 crore. Headquartered in Jaipur, the bank has a 302-strong branch network.