Kolkata, July 23 (IANS) Multi-business conglomerate ITC will not make an open offer for more stakes in East India Hotels (EIH), Chairman Y.C. Deveshwar said here Friday.
The cigarettes-to-hospitality group currently holds 14.98 percent in EIH.
If the holding touches 15 percent, ITC has to approach market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for an open offer, which it would not do, Deveshwar told reporters during a press conference.
‘If we touch 15 percent, we then have to go for additional 20 percent, which means we have to take up atleast 35 percent, which we wouldn’t do,’ he said.
He, however, refused to comment whether the company would raise stake in EIH even if the threshold limit for mandatory open offer is raised to 25 percent from the present 15 percent as suggested by a SEBI-appointed panel for reviewing the takeover code.
Talking about the company’s stake in competing businesses, Deveshwar said the company currently holds around 10.68 percent in Hotel Leela Venture Ltd.
It also controls around 14.09 percent stake in VST Industries as on March 31.
