Both the Alcan and Sterlite offers will open on May 4 and will close on June 2. The revised offer re-affirms Alcan's resolve to consolidate its holding in Indal from its present 34.62 per cent stake.

A press release issued by Alcan quotes its CFO Suresh Thadani as saying: "As one of the original promoters of Indal, we remain committed to Indal's continued prosperity. We believe that a majority shareholding in the company will help us to ensure the company's stability and steady growth and to assist Indal in reaching its objective of becoming more competitive globally."

He was speaking after a press conference at which Indal chairman SM Datta announced the company's results for1997-98.

Putting on a brave face, Thadani said he felt a few holders of Indal shares may offload their shares for commercial reasons going by just the price.

Alcan holds 34.62 per cent in Indal, the financial institutions 36.06 per cent, and the public 9.54 per cent. Holders of Indal's 1994 GDR issue have 12.2 per cent. The rest is spread among corporate bodies, foreign institutional investors and others.

Tapan Mitra, Indal's vice-chairman and managing director, noted that the intrinsic value of the Indal share is Rs 200. Industry analysts said the new offer may not be the end of a price war between the two companies, which has room for further revisions seven days prior to the close of the open offer.

In the release, Alcan said an intensive strategic study was carried out in the mid-1990s (financed jointly by Indal and Alcan) with the collaboration of leading international business consultants, Monitor Company.

Both Alcan and Indal have been pursuing the study's recommendations, in particular thosedealing with the maximisation of production capacity and the co-ordination of Indal's activities with those of Alcan subsidiaries and related companies in the Asia-Pacific region, and elsewhere in the world.

"Alcan, as one of the world's leading aluminium producers with a presence in over 30 countries, is able to provide Indal with significant opportunities to exploit information concerning the latest technologies and international market conditions," Thadani said in the release.

"Alcan is uniquely qualified to assist Indal in becoming more competitive globally while helping it to retain its position as one of the largest manufacturers of aluminium sheet products in India and a dominant domestic market supplier in standard and special grades of alumina," he said.