Tata Chem to sell Tata Investment stake

Tata Chemicals, the soda ash and fertiliser manufacturing arm of the Tata Group, plans to sell 13.35-14.51 per cent stake in Tata Investment Corporation (TICL) to Tata Sons for around Rs 300 crore.

According to sources, the internal arrangement is being worked out to fund its acquisition of the US based soda ash maker General Chemical Industries Products Inc (GCIP), last week.

Tata Chemicals executives declined to comment.

In its communication to the Bombay Stock Exchange today, Tata Chemicals said it proposed to sell between 46 lakh and 50 lakh shares in TICL to Tata Sons.

The proposed sale will happen only on or after February 13, 2008, at a price ranging in between Rs 600 and Rs 650 a share, based on the prevailing price on the date of the sale.

At present, Tata Chemicals has an equity of 15.37 per cent, or around 5,297,400 shares, in TICL. Currently Tata Sons holds about 40.44 per cent share of the 60.61 per cent shareholding of the promoters group in TICL. The acquisition will increase Tata Sons' holding in TICL to above 53 per cent.

While Tata Sons currently has a 14.63 per cent stake in Tata Chemicals, TICL has 7.28 per cent in Tata Chemicals, which has a promoters' equity of about 30 per cent.

Last week, Tata Chemicals bought US based soda ash maker General Chemical Industries Products Inc (GCIP) for $1005 million (about Rs 4,000 crore), to become the second largest producer of soda ash in the world.

The company plans to fund the acquisition through a combination of debt and equity as well as internal accruals.