DHL open offer for 20 per cent stake in Blue Dart

Mumbai: DHL Express Singapore Pte Ltd has appointed Ambit Corporate Finance Pvt Ltd manager to make an open offer to the equity shareholders of Blue Dart Express Ltd to acquire 20 per cent of its equity shares at Rs350 per share.

The acquirer, along with Deutsche Post AG, would be making the open offer for 47,45,587 equity shares of Blue Dart, in an all cash deal aggregating Rs166.09 crore.

The acquirer is making the offer as per regulations 10 and 12 of and in compliance with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (substantial acquisition of shares and takeovers) Regulation, 1997 and subsequent amendments thereto.

The offer is not subject to any minimum level of acceptance and the acquirer will acquire all the fully paid up equity shares of Blue Dart that are validly tendered in terms of this offer, up to a maximum of 47,45,587 equity shares. The offer will open on December 31, and will remain open till January 19, 2005.

This would bring to completion the Rs732.6-crore investment plan of DHL for the takeover of Blue Dart Express. The deal included the acquisition of 161.8 crore shares aggregating 68 per cent equity at Rs566.5 crore from the three founding shareholders of the Indian company and Schroder Capital Partners that was announced here on November 8.The scrip that had closed at Rs327.05 on the November 12 muhurat trading at the BSE, had hit a 52-week high of Rs331 on November 8.