Company director S Mahesh, in concert with the other promoters, namely Transworld Holdings Mauritius, who together hold about 73.56 per cent of the equity, have made an open offer to acquire 52,42,250 fully paid-up equity shares of Rs 10 each representing 26.44 per cent of the voting equity capital. The offer opened on May 11 and will remain open till June 9.

The decision to make the open offer at Rs 10 is in line with SEBI's takeover regulation 20 (3) under the category of infrequently traded stocks, which considers the highest of the negotiated prices in the 26-week period precedingthe date of the public announcement.

"The takeover route is enabling such companies to exit out of the markets, with little or no alternative left with the investors but to yield to the price dictated by the company," said Raj Kumar Singhal, an investor who had acquired a substantial chunk of these shares through the public issue.

Ravi Purohit and Rajesh Gamavat, who also own shares of the company, hold a similar view. They feel the move is a back door route used by the company to buy back its own shares. Investors said they would be forced into accepting such offers from companies as they feared delisting by companies, even if they did not find the offer price acceptable.

It should be noted that as per the bye-laws of the exchange and SEBI regulations, reduction of public shareholding to 10 per cent or less of the voting capital provides sufficient ground for delisting securities.

"Although the shares are today quoted in the range of Rs 3-5, in the light of company's performance we are confident thatthe stock will move up with greater vigour," explained an investor who holds more than one per cent of Shreyas Shipping's paid-up capital. The company had tapped the primary market in 1994 with a public issue of 49.53 lakh shares at Rs 20 per share, aggregating to Rs 9.90 crore, to part finance the cost of acquisition of second-hand container vessels and also to meet the working capital needs of the company. "The company had then set an ambitious target of acquiring three container vessels. However, now they have five vessels. This itself is an indication of the excellent performance of the company," explained a research analyst.

The company has maintained a record of paying an annual dividend of 12 per cent for three consecutive years, hence the decision to delist the securities according to market experts, could prove to be detrimental in the interests of the investors.