The pricing and timing of the issue and other terms of the offer will be decided in due course of time in consultation with Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, which has been appointed the book-running lead managers for the same. After the public issue, the management control of GSLL would be with multinational Sara Lee, which will continue to hold 51 per cent in the company. Adi Godrej will continue as chairman of Godrej Sara Lee.

The move is aimed at enabling Godrej Soaps to reduce its debt and improve its debt-equity ratio. This will help the company in reducing its interest burden to improve shareholder value, Godrej said.

Godrej Soaps is reeling under a high debt burden of Rs 343 crore (Rs 464 crore in 1998-99). The debt equity ratio at 1:3 is also on the higher side, feels Godrej. Further, the net interest outflow is at Rs 48 crore. "There was a need to unlock shareholder value that exists in the unrelated businesses now. We were exploring various possibilities and this proved to be the best option to reduce debt," Godrej said.

According to Godrej, the offer is expected to garner upwards of Rs 150 crore for the sale of 25 per cent holding.

Godrej Sara Lee is a leading player in the household insecticides market with a share of 37 per cent. It is the world's largest manufacturer of mosquito mats with 66 per cent market share in India. Prominent brands in its portfolio include Good Knight, Jet, Hit and Hexit. GSLL is a profit-making company, which posted a net profit of Rs 30 crore in the previous fiscal.