Praj Industries gets block deal booster

DALAL STREET SPIKES

Praj Industries witnessed a huge block deal in early trades on the BSE yesterday. The counter hit a high of Rs 104.45, closing at the same price, up by 5 per cent, its upper circuit. More than 10.84 lakh shares were traded on the BSE.

According to market sources, a block deal of 9.9 lakh shares was registered on the counter at Rs 99 per share. Market talks suggest that Warburg Pincus was the buyer but the seller was unknown.

The Praj Industries scrip has nearly doubled from the Rs 55-level in September 2003 on reports that the government would make it mandatory for petrol stations to sell ethanol-blended petrol to reduce the country's dependence on imported crude oil, according to market sources.

Praj Industries designs, manufactures, and supplies engineering projects to ethanol plants.