India's largest sugar producer, Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd, on Friday said its shareholders will meet on 16th December to consider and approve raising of Rs2,000 crore from domestic and international markets.
Earlier there were reports that Bajaj Hindusthan has been trying to buy the promoter's stake in Balrampur Chini Mills Ltd, the second largest sugar producer in the country. Balrampur Chini controls about 4% share in India's fragmented sugar market and has an integrated facility with power and distillery, both having stable demand. Kushagra Bajaj, Bajaj Hindusthan's helmsman, is looking to offer Rs160 per share for a 36.7% promoters' stake in Balrampur Chini, instead of Rs180 per share as reported earlier, the reports said.
The board of directors of Bajaj Hindusthan, at their meeting held today, approved to hold an extraordinary general meeting of the shareholders, for obtaining the requisite approval to raise funds worth Rs2,000 crore funds from domestic and international markets, Bajaj Hindusthan said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).
In FY07 and FY08, Bajaj Hindusthan raised large amounts of debt on its books to fund its capacity expansion plans. It even went into the red in the last down cycle due to its high debt burden.
"With the rise in earnings and the recent fund raising through QIP and promoters’ warrants, the net debt-to-equity ratio has come down to a manageable level of 1x from 4.7x in FY08," said an analyst with a leading brokerage.
Bajaj Hindusthan shares Friday closed 1.73% higher at Rs223.25 on the BSE while the Sensex ended 0.9% up at 16,848 points. -Yogesh Sapkale[email protected]
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