Astec LifeSciences Rallies After Adi Godrej Makes Rs 545-Crore Open Offer
The open offer for 26% stake saw Astec's stock rally as much as 14.29% in opening trade on the NSE.
Adi Godrej and family have made an open offer to acquire a 26% stake in
Astec LifeSciences Ltd., causing the shares of the chemical manufacturer to rally. Nadir Godrej is leading the offer to buy more than 50.99 lakh shares at a price of Rs 1,069.75 per share, aggregating to Rs 545.5 crore, the company told the exchanges on Thursday. This is at a discount of 17% to the last closing price of the stock.
The open offer comes after the Godrej family announced an organisational realignment to divide the $5.7-billion empire. Astec is a subsidiary of Godrej Agrovet Ltd., which will be led by Nadir Godrej as chairperson alongside his brother Adi and their immediate families.
Nadir Godrej, Tanya Dubash, Nisaba Godrej and Pirojsha Godrej are the acquirers in the open offer. Adi Godrej, Rati Godrej, Karla Bookman, Burjis Godrej, other family members and several family trusts will be persons acting in concert for the acquisition, it said.
Adi Godrej — the head of the family — and his brother Nadir Godrej will retain control of the five listed companies of the Godrej Group, including Godrej Industries Ltd., Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., Godrej Properties Ltd., Godrej Agrovet Ltd., and Astec. These companies, collectively worth Rs 2.4 lakh crore have interest spanning consumer goods, real estate, agriculture, chemicals, and gourmet retail.
Cousins Jamshyd and Smita will receive the unlisted Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. along with its affiliates and a land bank. Both groups will continue to utilise the 'Godrej' brand, with no requirement to pay royalties for the same.
Astec shares rallied as much as 14.29% in opening trade on the NSE. They were trading 5.87% higher, compared to a 0.07% decline in the benchmark Nifty 50 at 9:52 a.m.
The stock has fallen 3.82% in the last 12 months, but has risen 16.7% on an year-to-date basis. The relative strength index was at 66.9.
One out of the four analysts tracking the company have a 'buy' rating on the stock, and three suggest a 'sell', according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analyst price targets implies a potential downside of 16.5%.
