Hindalco has made an open offer for acquiring the balance 25.5 per cent shareholding in Indal in an effort directed towards consolidating the Aditya Birla Group's aluminium operations. The offer made is at Rs 120 per share, a 36 per cent premium to the 26 week average price and a 24 per cent premium to the average price during the last one month. The offer is aimed at making Indal a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hindalco and is widely believed to be the first step towards Indal's meger with Hindalco. The Hindalco board has also approved a decision to stop an ongoing buyback programme to facilitate the open offer plan. Hindalco had proposed a buyback of up to 10 per cent of the equity capital at a price not exceeding Rs 850 per share. The buyback programme was consequent to the group's proposed restructuring and amalgamation plans with group companies Indo Gulf Corporation and Indal. The programme was open for only 4 months, during which Hindalco bought back only about one per cent of its equity for which it spent around Rs 550 million. "As we have to issue fresh shares, the Buyback Act prohibits us from going ahead with the plan any more," according to a statement released by the Group.
NSTL
