Great Offshore Battle and Its Relevance to Takeover Code
Great Offshore Take Over Battle
Prologue
The battle to acquire Great Offshore Limited (“GOL”) saw aggressive bidding by two companies, Bharti Shipyard Limited (“BSL”) and ABG shipyard limited. Of these two companies ABG limited withdrew from the bidding race a day before it had to make an open offer by selling its stake to Edelweiss capital and others. After ABG withdrew from the battle Bharti Shipyard Limited paid approximately Rs 900 crores to complete the acquisition of stake in Great Offshore Limited.
Great Offshore Limited’s share price rose from Rs 344/- per share to Rs 590/- per share as a result of the bidding war between the two companies, ABG Limited and Bharti Shipyard Limited. This increased BSL’s investment costs by around Rs 450 crores.
In the following sections we attempt to evaluate the takeover battle from its inception to the commencement of the open offers by both the acquirers and in the process analyze the legal and regulatory implications of the transaction.
Parties involved in the transaction 1) Great Offshore Limited GOl was hived off from Great Eastern Shipping Company (GESC) and incorporated as a separate company on July14th, 2005 under the stewardship of Mr. Vijay Kantilal Sheth. Great Offshore is India's prominent integrated offshore oilfield services provider offering a broad spectrum of services to upstream oil and gas producers to carry out offshore exploration and production (E&P) activities. From drilling services to marine and air logistics, from marine construction to port/terminal services and beyond, Great Offshore meets a wide gamut of the offshore requirements of an E&P operator. GOl is listed on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
2) Bharti Shipyard Limited
BSL was established in 1973 as a small shipbuilding facility at Ratnagiri and incorporated as a company on June 22, 1976. Bharati Shipyard Ltd is the foremost privately operated shipyard in terms of building
Prologue
The battle to acquire Great Offshore Limited (“GOL”) saw aggressive bidding by two companies, Bharti Shipyard Limited (“BSL”) and ABG shipyard limited. Of these two companies ABG limited withdrew from the bidding race a day before it had to make an open offer by selling its stake to Edelweiss capital and others. After ABG withdrew from the battle Bharti Shipyard Limited paid approximately Rs 900 crores to complete the acquisition of stake in Great Offshore Limited.
Great Offshore Limited’s share price rose from Rs 344/- per share to Rs 590/- per share as a result of the bidding war between the two companies, ABG Limited and Bharti Shipyard Limited. This increased BSL’s investment costs by around Rs 450 crores.
In the following sections we attempt to evaluate the takeover battle from its inception to the commencement of the open offers by both the acquirers and in the process analyze the legal and regulatory implications of the transaction.
Parties involved in the transaction 1) Great Offshore Limited GOl was hived off from Great Eastern Shipping Company (GESC) and incorporated as a separate company on July14th, 2005 under the stewardship of Mr. Vijay Kantilal Sheth. Great Offshore is India's prominent integrated offshore oilfield services provider offering a broad spectrum of services to upstream oil and gas producers to carry out offshore exploration and production (E&P) activities. From drilling services to marine and air logistics, from marine construction to port/terminal services and beyond, Great Offshore meets a wide gamut of the offshore requirements of an E&P operator. GOl is listed on both the National Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
2) Bharti Shipyard Limited
BSL was established in 1973 as a small shipbuilding facility at Ratnagiri and incorporated as a company on June 22, 1976. Bharati Shipyard Ltd is the foremost privately operated shipyard in terms of building