Bharati Shipyard Ltd., a company promoted by two ex-IITians P.C. Kapoor and Vijay Kumar, said it has picked up 55.34 lakh pledged shares representing 14.89% in Great Offshore Ltd., a firm controlled by a faction of Mumbai's Sheth family, at a price of Rs.315 per share for a consideration of Rs.174 crore.
The Mumbai-based company said in a cashless deal, this block of shares changed hands on Thursday, from Sheth to two wholly owned subsidiaries of Bharati, namely Natural Power Ventures Pvt. Ltd. and Dhanshree Properties Pvt. Ltd.
Earlier, the holding companies of promoters of Great Offshore had pledged 14.89% stake with Advitiya Urja Pvt. Ltd. and Vishudh Urja Pvt. Ltd., the two 100% subsidiaries of Bharati Shipyard.
The deal is fallout of Sheth's inability to raise money to free the shares he had pledged to raise funds. Originally, the shares were pledged as collateral with a clutch of finance companies that had lent Sheth. Amid a fall in stock price and repeated margin calls from these lenders, Sheth had approached the Bharati management for funds in December 2008.
With this acquisition, Bharati emerged as the single biggest shareholder in Great Offshore, a company that was spun out of Great Eastern Shipping three years ago as part of de-merger between the Sheth family. Vijay Sheth would be left with less than 1% stake, while his cousin Ravi Sheth, who runs Great Eastern Shipping and is a member of the other family faction, would continue to hold 4.5%.
The company said the investment in Great Offshore would enhance value for stakeholders of both the companies. The company foresees a great value and huge potential in the investment.
P.C. Kapoor, Managing Director of Bharati, said, "We consider the investment in Great Offshore as a significant step towards the company's aspiration to have foothold in all spheres of the offshore industry. The company carved a niche for itself into construction of vessels and rigs required for the offshore industry and Great Offshore is into providing support vessels and services required by the offshore industry."
Vijay Kumar, Managing Director of Bharati, said, "Great Offshore has been built with a lot of passion, commitment and effort and enjoys the unstinting and unparalleled trust of all stakeholders. Further, the company has a proficient team with enormous experience in various facets of the offshore industry, which gives it an edge over its competitors. Over the last several years, Great Offshore has built up a diversified fleet and is the only integrated service provider covering the entire gamut of offshore services."
At the BSE, Bharati Shipyard shares are currently trading at Rs.111.00, up by Rs.15.70 or 16.47% on a volume of 5.33 lakh shares, while Great Offshore is trading at Rs.308.05, up by Rs.12.60 or 4.26% on a volume of 2.38 lakhs shares.
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