Thomas Cook open offer to cost C&N Touristic Rs 36 crore more

Anindita Dey

Mumbai, July 15: The Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has directed the German group, Condor and Neckermann Touristic (C&N Touristic), to come out with the open offer for acquiring 20 per cent of the equity of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd at the minimum offer price of Rs 475 per share.

According to sources, this new price will cost C&N Touristic around Rs 36 crore more at Rs 137.75 crore for acquiring the 20 per cent equity of Tomas Cook India against a sum of Rs 101.50 crore calculated earlier at a minimum offer price quoted by the company at Rs 350 per share. The total equity shares of the company stood at 1.45 crores.

As per the Sebi directive, the date of announcement for acquiring the 20 per cent shares should be made, the reference rate for calculating the minimum offer price and not the actual date of taking over the control of the company. This issue was pending before Sebi after the shareholders of the company ruled out the resolution put forward by C&N Touristic of not coming out with the open offer for the said acquistion in an extraordinary general meeting held on June 6, 2001. The resolution was defeated due to lack of majority of votes collected through the postal ballot facility .

Follwing the defeat of the resolution, the company was required to make the public offer at Rs 350 per share.

The decision to acquire 20 per cent equity of Thomas Cook (India) Ltd follows the takover of Thomas Cook Holdings, for Rs 3,630 crores by the C&N Touristic globally.

Post the global takeover, C& N Touristic had acquired the indirect control over Thomas Cook (India) Ltd and had subsequently applied to Sebi for the exemption from making an open offer for the 20 per cent shares of Thomas Cook. Although Sebi granted an exemption, but it was subject to the condition of the ratification of the
indirect acquistion by shareholders at a general meeting through a special resolution, which fell through.

Besides, the case of C&N Touristic, another similar case pending with the Sebi as well as Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) is that of the open offer of BP AMOCO to acquire 20 per cent of equity shares of Castrol India Ltd . While BP AMOCO wanted to make the open offer at Rs 312 per share, Sebi insisted the price to be Rs 350.

This contention was made on the same basis as that of C&N Touristic and Thomas Cook.