Dalmia Dsq Bio Pie At 8.42%

Dinesh Dalmia, the promoter of DSQ group, has substantially reduced his holding in DSQ Biotech Ltd.

The promoter's holding in the company as on June 2001 has been reduced to 8.42 per cent as per the company's filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) from 52 per cent in January 2001.

Even in DSQ software, the promoter's holding, as per the BSE filing in September 2001, was a mere 2.06 per cent. In March 2001, the holding of the promoter and persons acting in concert with him was around 17.28 per cent.

When contacted about the reasons for the apparent dilution of stake in this calendar year, the company spokesperson explained that the company had placed these share with few funding agencies to raise additional capital, adding that promoters would get back those shares when the funds were re-paid.

However, the company spokesperson was unable to disclose the quantum of funds raised nor the purpose for which it was deployed. Efforts to contact the promoter Dinesh Dalmia failed.

Market sources feel that Dalmia might have diluted his stake by selling to the public at large when the stock prices were ruling high in the early part of this year. The company has also gone back on its promise of hiving off the bio-informatics division into a separate company and has attributed the delay in doing so because of the prevailing adverse market conditions.

Since the beginning of this year, DSQ Biotech has reported unsatisfactory results and for the quarter ended June 30, 2001, the company posted a net loss of Rs 15.67 crore against a profit Rs 8.02 crore for the corresponding period in the previous year.