Times group acquires 4.98% in Pantaloon
By Our Corporate Bureau | 07 Jan 2005
Mumbai: Pantaloon Retail India has sold a 4.98 per cent (953,000 shares) of its stake preferentially to Bennett, Coleman and Company (BCCL) for Rs70 crore.
Kishore Biyani, managing director, Pantaloon Retail India, said the deal was just a financing arrangement, and Pantaloon had no plans to link itself with BCCL. "This thing never crossed my mind when we struck the deal with BCCL," Biyani said.
"Our retail chain is on an expansion spree. We decided to opt for this route to meet our fund requirements," said Biyani.
After this preferential placement, the promoters' stake in Pantaloon Retail will be down by a percentage point from 39 per cent currently.
The company plans to add more than 1.5-million sq ft of retail space over the next 18 months with a capital expenditure of around Rs150 crore.
In a notice to the stock exchanges, Pantaloon said the shares had been placed at a premium of Rs724.02 per share.
Pantaloon will also be issuing 408,000 warrants worth Rs30 crore to promoters and their associates. These warrants will give an option to the warrant holder to acquire one fully paid-up equity share of Rs10 each for cash at a premium of Rs725 per share for every warrant within a period of 18 months.