As the battle for control of Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd (MCFL) hots up, Deepak Fertilisers Chairman Sailesh Mehta, on Thursday, hinted he was open to discussions with the rival alliance of Vijay Mallya and Saroj Poddar of the Zuari group.
Mr. Mehta’s comments come two days after Mr. Mallya’s UB group joined hands with the Zuari group to ward off a hostile takeover bid by Deepak Fertilisers for MCFL. The duo proposed to buy an additional 26 per cent stake in MCFL at rates 9 per cent higher than what Deepak Fertilisers offered.
“..Mr. Saroj Poddar and Mr. Mallya are all respected persons...and there is always somewhere room for discussions to look at how MCFL unit and its growth is not compromised at any moment,” Mr. Mehta said.
Strong balance sheet
Asked about financing the takeover bid, Mr. Mehta said funding was not a problem and Deepak Fertilisers’ balance sheet was very strong.
The profit surged more than three-fold to Rs.91.44 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31, the company said in a statement.
“We are in discussions with our merchant bankers over this counter offer issue,” President and Chief Financial Officer Somnath Patil told PTI.
The company has a few weeks to match or better the open offer. UB and Zuari, two key shareholders in MCFL, came together, marking the next stage of a bitter battle between the Zuari group and Deepak Fertilisers to wrest control of the UB group company, which has been on for over a year. Their counter offer was made less than a month after Deepak Fertilisers raised its stake in the firm, and made an open offer to buy an additional 26 per cent at Rs.63 per share.
The Zuari group, which holds a 16.43 per cent interest in MCFL, teamed up with the UB group on May 13, and offered to buy a 26 per cent stake at for Rs.68.55 a share apiece for a total of Rs.211.22 crore.
