Confirming that he had bought into the company, Mr Dalmia, however, playeddown his buying into the company by stating that these shares were purchasedabout nine months to an year back and he treated them purely as a "valueinvestment". But when asked if he would increase his shareholding, Mr Dalmiasaid, "I could be interested in buying more shares."

"I wrote to Aditya Birla group chairman Mr Kumar Mangalam Birla aboutpurchase of these shares," he told The Financial Express, adding that he didso though it was not legally required.

When asked if he would initiate a takeover bid for the company as he did inthe case of Gesco Corporation, Mr Dalmia said, "At the moment I treat itpurely as a value investment."

Mr Dalmia's bid for control of Gesco ended up in a compromise with the Shethfamily, the promoters of Gesco, to whom he offloaded the shares he purchasedfrom the market.

Indian Rayon seems to have attracted Mr Dalmia primarily for two reasons:good financial performance, which improved further during the first ninemonths ended December 2000, and acquisition of global rights (except forsome markets like the UK and the US) for international menswear brands fromMadura Coats and Coats Viyella, which include Allen Solly, Louis Philippe,and Peter England.

The company's share price has more than doubled in the last one year from Rs45 to Rs 97. The share hit a 52-week high of Rs 106 on February 16.

On financial front, Indian Rayon reported a net profit of Rs 46 crore on aturnover of Rs 1,063 crore on an equity capital base of Rs 59 crore.