Insurance firms find open offer price attractive

LIC is one of the biggest shareholders in Ranbaxy Laboratories with a 15.84 per cent stake. GIC holds 1.44 per cent in the company.

LIC Managing Director Thomas Mathew said Ranbaxy's open offer price is "very attractive considering the current share price of Ranbaxy". LIC will soon take a final call on how much it should divest," he said

GIC Chairman and MD Yogesh Lohiya also said that the price is indeed attractive and the company would take a final call within two days. The open offer will begin from August 8 and close on August 27.

Going by the share price of Ranbaxy as of today, LIC's investment in the company is valued at Rs 2420 crore.

At the open offer price of Rs737, the investment value will almost double, at Rs 4357 crore.

LIC with 15.84 per cent, Deutsche Securities Mauritius (3.17 per cent), Merrill Lynch(1.13 per cent) and General Insurance Corporation of India (1.44 per cent), together hold 21.58 per cent stake in Ranbaxy.

Nippon based Daiichi Sankyo, which entered into a deal with Ranbaxy promoter Malvinder Singh and his family to buy their entire 34.8 per cent stake in Ranbaxy in a deal valued at $4.6 billion, had announced an open offer to acquire a further 20 per cent from other shareholders.