Open offers worth Rs 2,460 cr in Apr-Aug: Sebi

Open offers worth Rs 2,460 crore were made to buy shares from public shareholders in the first five months of the current fiscal.

Between April-August, shareholders have received a total of 33 open offers worth Rs 2,460 crore, Sebi has said in its latest monthly bulletin.

Of these, 16 open offers worth Rs 1,613 crore were made for substantial acquisition of shares. This is the highest number of offers made for this category since 2008-2009 fiscal.

In the month of August 2012 alone, 11 public offers were made, which is the highest number for a month this fiscal.

These offers worth Rs 838 crore are substantially higher than offers worth Rs 467 crore July, 2012.

According to Sebi regulations, pursuant to substantial acquisition of shares or change in control in a listed firm, an acquirer has to make an offer to the public shareholders, known as open offers, so as to give them a fair opportunity to exit the company if they so wish to.

Open offers are made with the objective of change in control of management, consolidation of holdings or substantial acquisition in a company.

Seven public offers worth Rs 825 crore in August were made to acquire substantial quantity of shares without acquiring control of the management, Sebi said.

Four offers worth Rs 14 crore with respect to change in the control of management were made in August. This, however, is the lowest number of such issues in the last five months.

The month did not see any open offers for consolidation of holdings in a company.