The promoters of Ashapura Minechem may have finally found a way of divesting their stake after the shareholders' thumbs-down to the high-priced offer of sale. The company is now planning a preferential allotment of equity shares to a foreign company possibly at a high premium. The board of directors is meeting on Friday to consider the issue. Sensing a high-priced deal in the offing, activity in the hitherto illiquid counter has picked up. Punters have pushed up the stock price by 10 per cent in just over a week to Rs 84. Volumes, too, have spurted from less than 200 shares to over 1500 shares per day.

The offer of sale by the promoters (to bring down their holding from 78.55 per cent to 58.55 per cent in tune with the listing agreement) in April this year at Rs 170 per share had raised a storm as the stock was quoting at only Rs 80. Understandably the issue flopped and now it seems the promoters have found a novel way of achieving the same.

Ashapura Minechem is thelargest producer and exporter of bentonite with export sales of Rs 66.82 crore out of a total turnover of Rs 69.97 crore for 1997-98. The company has leases for mining which is likely to last for another 35 years at the present rate of capacity utilisation. The total income and post-tax earnings of the company have grown at a compounded annual growth rate of 21 per cent and 18 per cent, respectively, over the last five years.

High on dividend hopes

The Geep Industrial Syndicate counter has been witnessing hectic buying for quite same days. Reason - marketmen are hopeful that the company would share the funds raised from the recent sale of its dry cell unit with the shareholders. As per market sources the board is planning to announce a cash dividend of Rs 100 per share. The scrip is currently trading at Rs 61.15. In less than 13 trading sessions the scrip has zoomed from Rs 39 level to Rs 61. On the expectation of cash dividend the scrip has recently touched all-time high of Rs 67. Marketmen expectthe scrip is headed for Rs 80 level in next fortnight's time. The company has a six per cent market share in batteries and its brand `Geep' batteries have a strong presence in the northern India. Recently, Geep Industrial Syndicate has sold its `Geep' brand and the Mysore manufacturing facilities alongwith its distribution network to Indian Shaving Products Ltd (ISPL) which has a tie-up with global market leader Duracell. Geep commands a high market share among torches, dry cell batteries and miniature lamps in the country and is among names in the segment which enjoys the farthest reach in the rural areas of the country.

Down on dividend withdrawal

The shareholders of Lloyed Electric seem to be a disappointed lot as the company is likely to withdraw the proposed 10 per cent dividend. The Lloyed counter (the scrip is hardly traded) had been rising on expectations of a dividend from the company. However, the company's plan to drop the proposed dividend has seen the scrip shedding nearly 38 percent in just three trading sessions.

In anticipation of a dividend from the company, Lloyed scrip had more than doubled from Rs 3 on December 4 to Rs 6.7 on December 11 (on a single trading session). Volumes, too, shot up to 3700 shares on the same day. As the proposed dividend was Rs 1 on Rs 10 share, the yield for the shareholders would have been an attractive 30 per cent.

The company board is meeting on December 24 to consider the withdrawal of the proposed dividend of 10 per cent, the scrip slipped from Rs 6.7 to Rs 4.15. In fact, the market had been anticipating that the company might backtrack on the dividend promise.