Marubeni To Pay Rs 70 Per Anagram Share

Japanese major, Marubeni Finance Corporation is expected to pay around Rs 70 per share for acquiring the 26 per cent stake in the over Rs 200 crore non-banking finance company Anagram Finance Ltd. The current market price of Anagram is Rs 30 per share.

The modalities of acquisition have not yet been fina-lised but it is learnt that Ana-gram may issue fresh equity on preferential basis to Marubeni to beat the Sebi takeover code guidelines.

"The book value of the Anagram share was around Rs 40 last year, and its EPS till June 1997 was Rs 18. The current book value of the share is around Rs 64, and is expected to rise further by December this year,'' industry sources pointed out, rationalising the pricing of Rs 70 for the Anagram share.

Anagram had made a 1:1 bonus issue last year, and has a current equity of Rs 24.9 crore.

Sanjay Lalbhai, chairman of Anagram Finance, had earlier refused to comment on the issue pointing out that talks are going on with various companies. However, he added that Anagram is looking for a strong partner who will bring in huge resources and reduce the cost of funds.

"In today's competitive scenario, I don't believe many NBFCs will be viable. If Anagram needs to survive and grow, we need a strong partner who can raise cheap resources and expand our market share aggressively," said Lalbhai.

The premium for Anagram is said to be based on the fact that the company has a strong retail distribution network in the western region. It is also profitable and one of the few NBFCs expected to survive in the ongoing shake-out.

Anagram is looking for a strong partner who will bring in huge resources and reduce the cost of funds Sanjay Lalbhai, chairman Anagram Finance