Great Offshore promoters pledge more shares to Bharati arm

Promoters of Great Offshore have pledged another 800,000 shares, or 2.15 per cent, of the company to a subsidiary of shipbuilding firm Bharati Shipyard, taking the total shares pledged to 14.88 per cent, the former informed the exchanges today.

The promoters hold 15.73 per cent of the company’s shares, an official said. The shares were pledged to Advitiya Urja, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Bharati Shipyard, on Friday.

Earlier, the promoters had pledged 3,023,637 shares, or 8.14 per cent, with Vishudh Urja, another 100 per cent subsidiary of Bharati Shipyard, and 1,703,955 shares, or 4.59 per cent, with Advitiya Urja on December 3, according to earlier notification to exchanges.

Analysts said Great Offshore promoter Vijay K Sheth pledged the company’s shares with the shipyard and availing that loan, repaid his earlier lenders to save the shares from being sold in the open market.

Great Offshore shares had shed close to 79 per cent till December 3 from their high of Rs 1,094 on January 5 last year. Today, the company’s shares ended at Rs 278.85, up 10 per cent, from Friday but still 74.5 per cent below their January high. Since December 3, the shares have gained 18.7 per cent. Analysts believe Bharati Shipyard is bailing out Sheth as promoters of the two companies share “good relations”, apart from the fact that Bharati is the sole vendor of vessels to Great Offshore.

Currently, Bharati Shipyard has two supply orders — a rig and a multi-purpose support vessel —pending with Great Offshore. Earlier a Bharati official had said, “We share a long and close relationship with Vijay Sheth, both personal and business. We are executing orders worth Rs 1,200 crore for Great Offshore. That is why we extended the credit to him.”

Sheth had placed a significant portion of his stake in Great Offshore with Motilal Oswal as well as IL&FS to pay Great Eastern Shipping and its promoters for acquiring the company as part of a restructuring plan within the Sheth family.