Hc Gives New Twist To Noble Explochem Saga

A Bombay High Court order has queered the pitch against Shailesh Mehta's ongoing open offer for a 20 per cent stake in Noble Explochem at Rs 5.50 per share.

The high court yesterday passed an order permitting Sicom, which holds a 35 per cent stake in the industrial explosives company, to go ahead with the sale of its shares through a separate bidding process.

Sources close to Mehta of the Deepak Fertilisers Group, disclosed that the high court yesterday vacated the stay order on the Sicom initiative.

As per the guidelines of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, Sicom's move to sell its 35 per cent stake to another bidder could trigger another open offer.

Sicom had invited bids to ascertain the value of its stock on April 4. On April 16, Mehta, alongwith his company Smartchem Technologies, came out with an open offer.

This move followed Mehta's April 10 acquisition of a 17.6 per cent stake in Noble Explochem, at Rs 5.50 per share, from Chematur Engineering and Swedfund International of Sweden and Dyno Noble of Norway.

These shares and the 20 per cent sought to be mopped up through the offer would have made Mehta the largest shareholder in Noble Explochem with a 37.6 per cent stake.

On 16 May, the Bombay High Court granted a stay on the opening of bids, following a plea to this effect by Mehta.

The high court judgement was contested by Sicom as well as Bharat Explosives, a Sanjay Dalmia company, which is known to have participated in the Sicom tender. Yesterday, the stay order was vacated.

However, sources close to Mehta said the high court judgement would not affect the ongoing open offer in any way. The offer closes on 14 July.

According to sources, the acquisition of Noble Explochem would have been a forward integration for Mehta, as his company Smartchem Technologies is a leading producer of explosives grade prilled ammonium nitrate, which is an essential raw material for NG-based explosives.