This was conveyed to Bilt chairman LM Thapar and managing director Gautam Thapar by Al-Murjan group's representative, who was here to attend the company's board meeting on Monday, sources said.

With their own shareholding of over 32 per cent, Al-Murjan's backing gives the Thapars control of nearly 50 per cent shares in the company. Al-Murjan's assurance to the Thapars comes in the wake of the Calcutta-based businessman Arun Bajoria acquiring a six per cent stake in Bilt.

Though Mr Bajoria's acquisition of six per cent stake was not officially listed on the agenda of the company's board meeting on Monday, it was informally discussed among the directors.

Al-Murjan group's representative conveyed his management's appreciation of the successful restructuring of Bilt implemented after Mr Gautam Thapar took over as the managing director to make it a strongly paper business-focussed company. He told the Bilt management that his group is committed to having a long-term relationship with the Thapars, who have an experience of over five decades in paper business. ``He reaffirmed Al-Murjan group's confidence in the leadership of Mr Gautam Thapar,'' a source who attended the board meeting said.

A company spokesperson, when contacted, confirmed that Al-Murjan's representative attended the board meeting and conveyed his group's stand to the management.

Al-Murjan picked up the equity stake in Bilt at a price of over Rs 90 per share, when the company's financial position was much weaker than it is today.

Bilt pulled itself out of losses last year and gradually improved its financial performance to achieve a profit of over Rs 65 crore during the year ended June 2000, on an equity base of Rs 72 crore. Net profit in the first quarter ended September 2000 rose sharply to Rs 23.09 crore from Rs 10.12 crore in the corresponding quarter of 1999.

Mr Bajoria had picked up 10 per cent stake in Bilt and informed the company about it in April this year. However, his stake was diluted to six per cent after the merger of AP Rayon's pulp business with Bilt increasing the equity base of the company. Bilt has maintained that Mr Bajoria's intimation was not in conformity with the takeover code laid down by the Securities and Exchange Board of India. Bilt has also claimed that according to its records, Mr Bajoria is holding a mere three per cent stake.