HB Stockholdings gets Sebi nod for DSIL open offer

Bhasin already owns over 25 per cent in the company. If the open offer succeeds, Bhasin will end up with a stake in excess of the 40.7 per cent held by the promoters, led by Tilak Dhar.

"Sebi's nod for the open offer was received a couple of days back. We have fixed a tentative date of May 23 for launching the open offer and aim to acquire 35,00,000 shares. We are in talks with our merchant bankers to announce a revised price for the offer," said an official at HB Stockholdings.

Bhasin has invested Rs 22 crore in the last five-and-a-half months to increase his stake in DSIL from 12.87 per cent to 25.05 per cent through open market purchase of shares. The DSIL promoters, sons of Late Lala Bansi Dhar, have in turn raised their stake in the company from 32.54 to 40.7 per cent through an issue of warrants.

Bhasin was the broker for Swraj Paul when he mounted a hostile takeover bid for Escorts and Delhi Cloth Mills (it subsequently changed its name to DCM) in the mid-1980s.

The bid came to naught and Bhasin ended up with a sizeable stake in DCM. In 1990, the Shriram family-owned DCM split and Bhasin got a stake in all the splinter companies, including DSIL.

Bhasin had announced the open offer on November 19 last year. The price of the open offer was Rs 70 a share and was subsequently revised to Rs 120.

However, since HB Stockholdings bought some shares for Rs 127, the open offer price automatically stands revised at Rs 127. However, HB may consider revising it depending upon the market conditions. The DSIL share price closed at Rs 116.10 today at the Bombay Stock Exchange.

HB Stockholdings had filed a petition with the Company Law Board (CLB) in November last year against the issue of warrants by the company to its promoters.

The warrant issue would affect the interest of minority shareholders, the company had claimed. The case is still with CLB and the next date of hearing is July 22. Meanwhile, DSIL has completed the issue of warrants to the promoters.

DSIL was established in 1990, following the three-way split of DCM. Sugar is DSIL's main business with almost 50 per cent of the turnover generated from it. Its 11,000 tcd (tonnes crushed daily) capacity is located at Daurala (Meerut) in Uttar Pradesh. It also makes pharmaceutical grade sugar and Indian made foreign liquor.