ABG in talks to sell 15% stake in Great Offshore

Private shipbuilding major ABG Shipyard is in talks with global private equity (PE) players to sell its 15.23 per cent stake in Great Offshore Ltd, a top company official has said. The transaction is likely to be sealed within six months.

“We are in talks with various private equity players to sell our 15.23 per cent holding in Great Offshore. The talks are in the initial stage and may take five-to-six months for closure,” ABG Shipyard Chief Financial Officer Dhananjay Datar told PTI. Datar did not disclose the identities of the investors.

Recently, ABG, through one of its units, Eleventh Land Developers, acquired 5.7 million shares (15.23 per cent) of Great Offshore through an open offer. It is understood that the company is waiting for the right time to obtain an appropriate pricing for its shares, before offloading these.

Great Offshore was the target of a six-month-long takeover battle, with shipbuilders ABG Shipyard and Bharati Shipyard slugging it out for its acquisition Late last year, ABG exited the race after rival Bharati raised its open offer price to Rs 590 per share compared with the Rs 520 for a share quoted by it.