Bayer Offer Drives Up Aventis

Aventis CropScience India (ACIL) ended higher by 6.08 per cent in a subdued market on hopes that Bayer's open offer price for the company's shares may be revised upwards, dealers said.

The stock of the agrochemicals multinational closed higher at Rs 170 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) after reaching an intra-day high of Rs 174 amid a combined volume of about 75,000 on both the BSE and National Stock Exchange.

The jump in ACIL follows talks that Indian Syntans Investments (ISIPL) has objected to Bayer's open offer price. ISIPL has filed a complaint with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) requesting it to investigate the pricing of Bayer's open offer, Aventis announced in a press conference today.

 

ISIPL, a professionally managed investment company, holds 4.5 per cent in ACIL manufactures agrochemicals and agrochemical formulations and its manufacturing unit is located at Ankleshwar, Gujarat. The company has consolidated its position in the business of environmental health products with the introduction of 'Hexit' and the aerosol range 'Hexit'.

The company has numerous generic brands in pesticides and environmental health products segment.

The high level of importance attached to the agriculture segment has ensured that potential demand for agrochemicals continues to increase even while the focus is more on the insecticide segment in India.

The country's food requirements far outstrip the availability of arable land. Growth rates of around 10-15 per cent for agrochemicals, witnessed in India, are much higher than the world average of around 3-5 per cent. Spotting the opportunity, additional capacities have been coming up in the recent past.

For the first quarter ended 31 March 2002, ACIL registered a loss of Rs 6.48 crore compared with a net profit of Rs 1.32 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net sales increased by 22.3 per cent to Rs 45.01 crore from Rs 36.81 crore in MQ 2001.