S&P proposes to buy out existing shareholders of Crisil and acquire at least 51 per cent in the domestic rating agency. Financial institution sources said that the government could take a view against S&P gaining controlling stake and thereby influence the decision-making process of FIs. | |
| "Our decision to subscribe to the open offer could depend on the government's view. Otherwise, we will take a commercial decision," said institutional sources. |
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| FIs could hold the key as their combined holding stands at 33.83 per cent with ICICI Bank holding the maximum stake of 10.77 per cent. High net worth investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala holds more at 14.3 per cent stake and could turn the tables together with the 25.51 per cent holding of foreign institutional investors. |
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| S&P's conditional open offer opens on April 6 for 3,534,488 shares of Crisil, subject to a minimum response of 2,643,983 shares at Rs 680 per share. |
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| The offer is subject to regulatory approval, primarily that of the Foreign Investment and Promotion Board (FIPB). |
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| As per the public offer announcement, the last date for a competitive bid is March 14. S&P has retain the right to revise the open offer price and the offer size until April 11. |
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| To date, there has been no counter offer made as yet, and some institutional sources said that they were open to accepting the open offer. |
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| S&P currently holds 9.45 per cent in Crisil. If S&P's offer is entirely successful, its holding will rise to 65 per cent at an investment of about Rs 240 crore. |
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| Should S&P not be able to acquire the minimum 51 per cent holding in Crisil, the entire deal would be called off. "The conditional offer has been made to ensure control in Crisil," said sources. |
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| When contacted, S&P spokesperson said that over time, Crisil's management and analytical pool will be an integral of S&P's global network. |
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| However, he added that there are no plans to change the name of Crisil. |
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| Crisil is expected to become a critical component of S&P's Asia Pacific region, and will help tie together what is already a large presence in all the key financial markets in the region, said S&P's spokesperson. |
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| The global rating agency has offices in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Beijing, Taiwan, Melbourne and Sydney. |
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