MUMBAI, July 23: The swap ratio for the proposed merger of SISCO with Essar Shipping has been fixed at 1:3, that is shareholders of SISCO would be issued three shares of Essar Shipping for every share held by them in SISCO. The merger would be effective from April 1, 1996. This was decided by the boards of both the companies at separate meetings held on Wednesday. It may be recalled that the boards of directors of both the companies had commissioned a panel of valuers comprising of N M Raiji & Co and Frasar and Ross to study the merger and recommend to the Board about the exchange ratio.The swap ratio is fair and equitable to all shareholders and has been arrived at taking into account the net asset value, profit earning capacity and the last months' share price of both the companies. The capital of the merged company would be around Rs 197 crore and its net worth would be approximately Rs 1000 crore with a debt-equity ratio of less than 1:1.Pond's India

MUMBAI: The Unilever group has hiked its stake in Pond's India to 51 per cent from 47.7 per cent at a cost of Rs 57.72 crore. The move paves the way for the eventual merger of Pond's with Hindustan Lever.

Earlier this week, Pond's completed the allotment of 9.31 lakh equity shares of Rs 10 each on a preferential basis to Unilever. The shares were issued at a premium of Rs 610 a share to Unilever Overseas Holding BV of Holland.Chairman Keki Dadiseth had hinted at a possible merger of Pond's and HLL at the recent annual general meetings of the two companies, saying that the two companies already have synergies in product lines and marketing activities.Pond's has said that it has secured Reserve Bank of India approval for the above issue. Pursuant to the consent terms filed with the Mumbai High Court, which were taken on record by a division bench on June 16, Pond's had made a fresh application to the RBI regarding the preferential allotment of the shares to Unilever. The board of Pond's India met to consider a fresh application. Pond's India and sister concern Hindustan Lever had worked out a compromise deal with RBI on the pricing of their 1993 preferential issues. under the deal, both HLL and Pond's agreed to RBI's pricing guidelines.

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