ABG Shipyard gets 15% stake in Great Offshore

ABG Shipyard, which exited the fight for Great Offshore by selling its entire stake and pricing its bid lower than rival Bharati Shipyard, has ended up with a 15% stake in the company. ABG's open offer was priced at Rs 520 per share against Bharati’s Rs590. ABG wanted to buy 32%, while Bharati’s offer was meant for a 20% stake. Both offers closed on December 22. Bharati’s open offer attracted shares amounting to 27% of the company’s equity capital against its target of 20%. Bharati will thus have to reject 7%, while ABG will accept all shares tendered in its offer. ABG will have to pay Rs2.8bn for buying the 5.65 million Great Offshore shares. A senior ABG Shipyard official confirmed the development but declined to talk about what the company plans to do with its unexpected equity stake. ABG sold its 8% stake in Great Offshore a day before its open offer, sending a message that it was not interested in having management control of the company. Bharati Shipyard, which now holds 43% stake in Great Offshore, is considering another open offer to acquire management control of the company, as its recently-concluded offer was under a section of the takeover rules which does not automatically confer the status of a promoter on the acquirer.