Usha Martin rallies after bidders express interest in buying co's steel biz

Shares of Usha Martin jumped nearly 9 per cent in the intraday trade on Wednesday after reports said five companies have expressed interest in buying Usha Martin’s steel business.

The five — JSW Steel, Tata Steel, Liberty House, Kalyani and Vedanta — have signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) in this regard, while they do their due-diligence. Once the offers are made, it would be evaluated by an independent committee set up by Usha Martin’s board of directors.

Rajeev Jhawar, managing director at Usha Martin, told shareholders at the company's annual general meeting that the entire process might take some time. Once the offers were received, he said, the board would evaluate whether the remaining business was sustainable before taking a final decision. READ MORE

Usha Martin was earlier looking to sell its wire and wire ropes business. However, a change in market conditions prompted the company to look at sale of the steel business.

At the time of writing this report, the stock was trading 4.41 per cent higher at Rs 33.15 apiece on BSE.