The swap ratio had earlier been fixed at three Grasim shares for every 10 Indian Rayon shares held, including GDRs.

The two companies have received all necessary clearances from the courts and the government.

Grasim's board announced a dividend of Rs 6.75 a share, and a pro-rata dividend for seven months to Indian Rayon shareholders.

Indian Rayon, on the other hand, will pay a dividend of Rs 4 per share which in effect works out to Rs 5.18 a share if the dividend on Grasim shares is factored in.

The cement division of Indian Rayon contributed around 50 per cent to its turnover, and will add Rs 344 crore to Grasim's turnover in the seven months of 1998-99.

Indian Rayon's revised net profit for the fiscal dropped 50 per cent to Rs 106 crore from Rs213 crore in the previous fiscal, and so has earnings per share (EPS) to Rs 15.71, though the figures are not comparable.

The turnover for the period was Rs 1,461 crore as compared with Rs 1,815 crore in the previous fiscal.

Grasim, which had earlier announced lower turnover and significantly lower profit after tax for 1998-99, now shows an increased turnover figure while Indian Rayon's cement division has added around Rs 18 crore to Grasim's bottomline.

In the case of the group flagship, the revised turnover stands increased to Rs 3,757 crore from Rs 3,500 crore in the previous fiscal, while net profit at remains lower at Rs 164 crore against Rs 231 crore in 1997-98.

Indian Rayon said the company post-restructuring has emerged as a relatively more focussed company, positioned for leadership through emphasis on three core areas -- viscose filament yarn, insulators and carbon black.

In VFY, Indian Rayon has attained a prominent position in both the global and domestic markets, while in carbon blackit is the country's second largest player.

In insulators, the company is globally the third largest player and exports around 80 per cent of the total exports from India.

Indian Rayon's outstanding debt has also been largely reduced through the transfer of Rs 437 crore of the cement division's loans to Grasim, and prepayment of another Rs 232 crore.