Jyoti to buy 51 per cent of Henkel India for Rs119 crore

Jyoti Laboratories has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 50.97 per cent shares of detergent maker Henkel India Ltd for Rs118.7 crore, in an all-cash deal.

Jyoti, on Thursday, also refuted press reports to the effect that the company was selling a major stake in itself to a private equity fund. A leading financial daily had, on Wednesday, published a report titled `PE giant to buy 26% in Jyothy Labs for Rs667 crore'.

In a clarification filed with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Jyothy Laboratories said it was not in talks with any PE fund to sell 26 per cent stake in the company.

The company further clarified that select reports appearing in various newspapers for the past few weeks are speculative in nature and that the company would not like to comment on every such rumour and speculation. 

Henkel India Ltd today informed BSE that the company on Thursday received a letter from its German promoter Henkel AG & Co KGaA, of Dusseldorf, Germany, intimating the agreement to sell 5,93,60,203 equity shares comprising 50.97 per cent of Henkel India's equity to  Jyothy Laboratories Ltd.

The all-cash deal, values the Henkel India stock at Rs20 each and the deal value works out to Rs118.7 crore, Henkel India said in its release.