Onkar Kanwar Ups Stake In Apollo Tyres To 20%

Apollo Tyres Ltd vice-chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar has raised his equity holding in the company to about 20 per cent from 9 per cent. Kanwar raised his equity by subscribing to a recent allotment of 30,10,000 partly-convertible debentures of Rs 222 each on a preferential basis.

On the day of the allotment itself, the convertible portion (part A) of the 14.5 per cent debentures, amounting to Rs 92 each, was converted into an equal number of equity shares of Rs 10 at a premium of Rs 82 a share.

The non-convertible portion (part B) of the debentures, amounting to Rs 130 each, is redeemable at a premium of 5 per cent in three instalments at the end of the fifth, sixth and seventh year, respectively, from the date of allotment.

Kanwar's equity holding in Apollo Tyres was thus far equal to the holding of his estranged father, Raunaq Singh, who is also the chairman of the company. With the increase in his holding, Kanwar has become the largest individual shareholder of Apollo Tyres.

Raunaq Singh, who holds 9 per cent equity in the company, was also entitled to an equal subscription of the debentures, but has declined to claim his entitlement. The Apollo Tyres board has yet to take a decision on what to do with the chairman's entitlement.

Apollo Tyres has also converted 4,190 secured 14 per cent non-convertible debentures issued in 1995 into an equal number of equity shares of Rs 10 each at a premium of Rs 90 per share.

The warrants were part of 69,69,838 warrants allotted through a rights issue in January 1995. The company had received applications during the interim from warrant holders for conversion into equity.