The gates still open

Last week's announcement by Moody's to increase stake in its India arm, ICRA, was the continuation of a trend started last year, when foreign promoters had made four voluntary open offers in India-listed multinational companies, to gain a tighter grip in their India arms. The combined open offer size for the four companies was about Rs 43,000 crore. The latest open offer by Moody's seeks to buy 26.5 per cent stake in ICRA at Rs 2,000 a share, a premium of about 20 per cent. Analysts believe these share purchases are fuelled by sound growth prospects in India compared to the developed world, as well as low interest rates in the West, often lower than the earnings yield of the India arms