United Spirits gains 4 per cent after Sebi clears Diageo's open offer

Shares of United Spirits today rose by 4 per cent after global liquor major Diageo Plc received market regulator Sebi's clearance for an open offer to acquire 26 per cent stake from public shareholders of the UB group firm.

Following this, the scrip moved up by 4 per cent to Rs 1,929.90 on the BSE, in an otherwise weak stock market. On the NSE, the stock was up 3.86 per cent at Rs 1,929.95.

In terms of volume, 4.49 lakh shares of the company changed hands on the BSE, while over 22.65 lakh shares were traded on NSE.

Moving closer to complete its Rs 11,167 crore takeover of majority stake in United Spirits, Diageo has got Sebi's clearance for an open offer to acquire 26 per cent stake from public shareholders of the UB group firm.

As part of the deal for purchase of 53.4 per cent stake in Vijay Mallya-led UB group's United Spirits Ltd, Diageo has made a Rs 5,441 crore open offer for purchase of 26 per cent stake in the company from non-promoter shareholders.

The open offer, which was made about three months ago soon after the deal announcement on November 9, has been now cleared by Sebi after numerous clarifications sought by the regulator and the subsequent representations made to it in this regard.

The deal is, however, still awaiting a green signal from fair trade regulator Competition Commission of India, although the concerned parties (Diageo and UB group firms) have submitted certain clarifications sought from them.

In the broader market, the BSE benchmark Sensex was trading at 19,659.87, down 91.32 points in afternoon trade.