ADAG acquires 1.89 lakh Fame shares to take stake to 14.34 per cent

21 May 2010

With the acquisition of an additional 1.89 lakh shares of multiplex chain Fame India along with two other group firms, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (R-ADAG) has taken its total stake in the multiplex chain to 14.34 per cent.

Three R-ADAG entities - Reliance MediaWorks, Reliance Capital and Reliance Capital Partners have taken up 0.54 per cent stake in Fame at an average price of Rs78.33 a share in open market transactions on 19 May.

Inox Leisure and Reliance have been locked in a bid to acquire a stake in Fame India with Reliance having already made an open offer of Rs180 crore to buy 52.72 per cent stake in Fame at Rs 83.40 per share.

The Reliance group's multiplex chain under the BIG Cinemas brand operates 253 screens across India while Inox Leisure operates 33 multiplexes and 123 screens in 23 cities across India.

Analysts say though ADAG has already made an open offer for acquisition of more shares of the company what is significant is that it has crossed the halfway mark for acquiring a crucial 26-per cent stake in Fame.

They add that if it does manage to buy the crucial stake through operations in the open market, it could block board resolutions and force Inox to negotiate a deal.