Our Markets Bureau

Mumbai, June 11: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has directed the UK-based BP-Amoco Plc to make an open offer within 45 days from Monday (June 11) to acquire shares of Foseco India Ltd (FIL) from its shareholders.

Sebi also asked the acquirer to take the higher price arrived at by taking March 14, 2000, and the actual date of the public announcement as reference dates, and also pay interest at the rate of 15 per cent per annum from March 14, 2000, till the actual date of public announcement.

In a release on Monday, Sebi said, although, the acquirer (BP-Amoco) has made the application seeking exemption from making an open offer to acquire the shares of FIL, it has already acquired control over the company. And being aware of its obligation to make an offer, as it has already done in the case of Castol India Ltd (another Indian subsidiary of Burmah Castrol),it filed the present application seeking exemption from making an open offer.

BP-Amoco announced on March 14, 2000, that it had reached an agreement with Burmah Castrol in terms of recommended cash offer for the acquisition of all its shares subject to certain conditions. BC was also a listed company in UK. Both CIL and FIL are direct subsidiaries of Burmah Castrol as the latter was holding 51 per cent and 58 per cent of the shares in these companies.

The takeover panel of Sebi, which had looked into the application of the acquirer said that since Sebi had already issued orders (on August 7, 2000) on the company’s earlier application, along with that of CIL, there was no question of the acquirer now withdrawing the said application. The acquirer had withdrawn its application on December 6, 2000.

FIL’s contemplated sale of its chemical business should be hopefully completed by July, 2001, and in the event of no-completion of the sale by July 7, 2001, the acquirer would make the open offer, the panel decided and did not recommend the grant of exemption to the company from an open offer.