Virtusa sets Rs 370 per share indicative price for Polaris

Virtusa Consulting Services, which has acquired Polaris Consulting & Services, today said it has set Rs 370 per share as the indicative price for delisting of Polaris shares from exchanges.

The indicative price is 67.6 per cent premium to Rs 220.73 per equity share, at which the acquirer Virtusa has 78.65 per cent of the voting share capital of the company in March 2016 from the erstwhile promoters and public shareholders.

The indicative price is 59.2 per cent premium to the floor price of 232.37, as determined in accordance with the Sebi delisting regulations, Virtusa Consulting Services said in a regulatory filing to BSE today.

Polaris Consulting share price opened at Rs 389.50 and hit a 52-week high of Rs 422 and closed at Rs 413.30, up 6 per cent on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) today.

"We would like to obtain full ownership of Polaris, which will in turn provide us enhanced operational flexibility. A successful delisting will also provide an exit opportunity to Polaris shareholders especially given low liquidity. The delisting price is determined by the reverse book build process and Virtusa will have the option to accept or reject the discovered price.

"We will accept the discovered price if it is reasonable and makes sense to Virtusa and its shareholders financially," Virtusa CFO Ranjan Kalia said, adding that the recent run up in the stock price has raised concerns for them.

Polaris Consulting reported consolidated revenue of Rs 20.79 billion (Rs 2,079 crore) and net profit of Rs 1.61 billion (Rs 161.44 crore) for FY 17. The standalone revenue stood at Rs 15.09 cr (Rs 1,509 crore) and net profit at Rs 1 billion (Rs 99.33 crore) in FY 17.