NEW DELHI: The independent directors of Mindtree have said that engineering conglomerate Larsen & Toubro’s offer of Rs 980 for the IT company’s shares ‘appears to be fair and reasonable’ and is in accordance with the market regulator’s takeover rules.
“The shareholders of the target company are advised to independently evaluate the open offer and take an informed decision about tendering equity shares held by them in the open offer,” the independent directors said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange. The promoters of the company, who own about 13 per cent of the company, have opposed the takeover, calling it hostile and saying it undervalues the mid-tier IT company.
Shares of Mindtree closed at Rs 975.50 a piece on NSE and Rs 974.65 a share on BSE.L&T’s open offer to buy another 31 per cent stake in Mindtree will now open on June 17 and close on June 28, after getting delayed by a month of its original timeline of May 14 to May 27 as it awaited . On June 7, L&T announced a Rs 5,030-crore open offer to acquire an additional 31 per cent stake in mid-Mindtree at a price of Rs 980 per share. L&T has so far acquired 28.90 per cent stake in Mindtree and the open offer, if fully subscribed, will take its shareholding in the IT company to about 60 per cent.