The Expendable Minority

By the look of it, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) analysts will soon be an extinct species. Close on the heels of the largest open offer (issue size of Rs 875 crore) made by Cadbury early this year (January/February 2002), another FMCG multinational is on its way to going it alone in its business.

Reckitt Benckiser Plc, the 51 per cent holding company of Reckitt Benckiser India, has made an offer to buy back the shares that it does not already hold in the Indian subsidiary at Rs 250 a share (49 per cent of the total paid-up capital). The offer is scheduled to open on May 14, and will remain open for a month.

Apparently, the move did not cause too much of a stir, since the markets had already been anticipating it.This is quite evident from the action one saw on the Reckitt counter right from the beginning of 2002.

In 2002, the stock has appreciated by 71 per cent to the current level of Rs 240. There were enough reasons supporting the market