Sebi Dictat On Technips Open Offer For Seamec Soon

The Securities & Exchange Board of India (Sebi) would take a final decision on whether the Paris-based marine company, Technip, would have to make an open offer for the minority shareholders of South East Asia Marine & Construction (Seamec) based on the reply filed by the acquirer.

The rumours that Technip will come out with an open offer have been doing the rounds for over a month ever since the French company completed acquisition of Coflexip Stena Offshore, which has a 58 per cent shareholding in Seamec.

A Sebi official monitoring the Seamec development said that today was the last date for the Seamec management to clarify why its foreign parent would not make an open offer.

"We expect that Seamec would file its clarification today. Based on the company's reply, Sebi will take a final decision probably in the next week," he added.

Repeated attempts to reach Seamec managing director G Sen and company secretary S N Mohanty in Mumbai failed.

Coflexip has so far not shown any inclination to make an open offer. In addition, Sebi sources said, the Seamec management did not intimate the Sebi about the change in foreign promoter of the company.

The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) had suspended trading of the Seamec shares from November 2 following the failure of the company to reply to the clarification sought by the bourse on the rise in share prices. The National Stock Exchange (NSE) had revised multiples from 3 times to 5 times in the rolling settlement segment due to unusual spurt in share prices.

The stock price of the company went up sharply from Rs 26 to Rs 90 in a month's time. The shares are now traded on NSE and the Calcutta Stock Exchange (CSE).

Seamec, formerly Peerless Shipping and Oilfields, was promoted by the Kolkata-based Roys of the Peerless General Finance & Investment, the country's largest non-residuary investment company. Coflexip had acquired 58 per cent stake in the erstwhile Peerless Shipping in 1999.

In April 2000, Technip took over a 29.7 per cent stake in Coflexip. This followed an open offer in July 2001 to the Coflexip shareholders. Through this, Technip got over 98 per cent interest in Coflexip in October 2001.

The current shareholding of Seamec is -- foreign promoters hold 58.24 per cent; FIs and FIIs have 5.95 per cent; private corporate bodies hold 19.27 per cent; non-resident Indians (NRI) and overseas corporate bodies (OCBs) have 0.3 per cent; and 16.12 per cent is with public. The balance 0.12 per cent stake is held in transit.