Skil announces open offer for Pipavav stake

Pipavav Shipyard gained nearly nine per cent on the Bombay Stock Exchange as its co-promoter, Skil Infrastructure, announced a consolidation plan to raise its equity stake in the former beyond 50 per cent.

Skil, which had 18.3 in Pipavav, bought out co-promoter Punj Lloyd’s 19.4 per cent stake in the shipbuilding company for Rs 656.4 crore, at Rs 50.7 a share. The agreement was signed on Saturday and the announcement to the exchanges came today. Skil made a further announcement today, to acquire another 20 per cent stake in the shipyard for Rs 819 crore, at Rs 61.5 a share, in an Initial Public Offer (IPO) later this year. This and the weekend acquisition would need Rs 1,475 crore and the company says it has enough reserves to go through with the plans.

“Skil Infrastructure has money to fund the acquisition of stake and the open offer,” said Nikhil Gandhi, non-executive chairman at Pipavav Shipyard and promoter of Skil. “Now, we (at Pipavav) will stay focused with more conviction on the demand of assets from oil and gas and defence production requirements.”

Post the open offer, Skil Infrastructure’s stake in Pipavav Shipyard would reach 57.7 per cent. The open offer would continue from May 21 to June 9.

Skil had earlier set up a special economic zone near Mumbai and then sold it to billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his associate Anand Jain’s Jai Corp.

The stock of Pipavav Shipyard gained 8.8 per cent to close at Rs 69.5 a share on the BSE. Stocks of Punj Lloyd lost 3.8 per cent to reach Rs 178 a share on the BSE, as the company sold stake on discount.