E*Trade makes open offer for 20% in IL&FS arm

US-based E*Trade Financial Corporation, through its wholly-owned subsidiary E*Trade Mauritius, on Monday announced an open offer to acquire 20 per cent of shares in stock broking firm IL&FS Investsmart at Rs 210 a share.

The offer follows the proposed conversion of global depository receipts (GDRs) held by E*Trade Mauritius in IL&FS Investsmart, which will increase its stake in the Indian broking firm to 27.87 per cent and requires the company to make an offer to the shareholders of Investsmart.

In a press release here, E*Trade said the offer would result in a change of control in IL&FS Investsmart and it was not subject to any minimum level of acceptance by the shareholders of the Indian brokerage house.

"E*Trade Mauritius' larger stake in Investsmart opens the door to expand the operational partnership between Investsmart and E*Trade Financial to increase global trading and investing opportunities for retail and institutional customers of E*Trade Financial and Investsmart. The two-way global relationship will provide Indian investors access to international markets and global customers with greater market opportunities to invest in India," the release said.

Following the offer, E*Trade Financial's resources would be deployed in India, allowing Investsmart to better leverage E*Trade Financial's technology and industry expertise to achieve the efficiency and growth inherent in a global trading and investing platform.

Further momentum would be created by supplementing Investsmart's management strength with senior executives from E*Trade Financial, the release added.k