With L&T acquiring more than 33 lakh shares of Mindtree through the open market on Thursday at a price of Rs 980 a piece, the engineering major has now taken its total shareholding in the IT firm to 25.93%. Thursday’s transaction amounted to Rs 323.96 crore.
Shares of Mindtree closed 0.19% down at Rs 978.60 per share on Thursday at the BSE. L&T is in the midst of acquiring a majority stake in Mindtree which the promoters of the latter are opposed to.
After having acquired an around 20% stake in Mindtree from Cafe Coffee Day founder VG Siddhartha in March, L&T has mandated Axis Capital to buy as much as 15% shares of Mindtree from the open market.
Over the last few days, the engineering major has been busy acquiring shares of Mindtree from the open market. On Wednesday, L&T had purchased over 37 lakh shares of Mindtree from the open market at a price of Rs 976.96, thereby upping its stake in the IT firm to 23.92%.
In the coming days, L&T will acquire another 9% of Mindtree shares from the open market. The firm is also set to commence an open offer on May 14 in which it will be looking to acquire 31% of the firm at Rs 980 per share.
Meanwhile, a committee of independent directors constituted by Mindtree board is yet to submit its recommendation in respect of the offer by L&T for the consideration of the shareholders. The report is expected to be submitted soon. Mindtree which had initially considered a buyback later decided not to proceed with the plan. The firm had stated that all independent directors will be members of the committee of independent directors which is headed by Apurva Purohit, lead independent director and spokesperson.
During a post-earnings call last month, the Mindtree management had told analysts that the independent directors will make their recommendations in due course. Based on the legal provisions, the independent directors’ committee needs to make its recommendations before the open offer opens, the management said.
On analysts’ queries about the impact of L&T’s potential increase in shareholding on the firm’s operational guidance, the management said that it is difficult for them to comment on an unknown factor like that and difficult for them to estimate or forecast.
