Vijay Mallya-promoted Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers (MCF) is facing a hostile takeover bid. Deepak Fertilisers has increased its stake in MCF to over 25 per cent and made an open offer to buy another 26 per cent for Rs 190 crore.
If the open offer to shareholders succeeds, Deepak Fertilisers, headed by Sailesh C Mehta, will wrest control of the firm, which belongs to the debt-ridden UB Group and owns and operates urea and chemical plants at New Mangalore port in Karnataka.
Deepak Fertilisers and Saroj Poddar-led Zuari Fertilisers have been engaged in a tussle for about a year for control of MCF, which had sales of Rs 2,779.59 crore in FY13.
Deepak Fertilisers which is the largest shareholder of MCF, bought 10,00,034 shares of the company at Rs 62.5 apiece on the BSE through subsidiary SCM Soilfert Ltd, according to stock market data.
After this transaction, its stake in MCF has increased from 24.46 per cent to more than 25 per cent, the threshold for making an open offer in line with regulator Sebi?s norms.
The promoter stake in MCF is only 21.98 per cent.
A UB Group spokesperson said: ?We will study the offer, review our options and respond accordingly.?
