Blackstone Arm To Sell EPL Stake To Thailand's Indorama For Rs 1,908 Crore
EPL board approved a share purchase agreement, wherein Epsilon will sell 7.95 crore shares representing 24.9% stake, to Indorama Netherlands B.V.
EPL Ltd. promoter and Blackstone Inc. arm Epsilon BidCo Pte will pare its shareholding by nearly half after selling shares to Thailand's Indorama Ventures in a deal worth Rs 1,907.85 crore.
On Monday, the board approved a share purchase agreement wherein Epsilon will sell 7.95 crore shares representing 24.9% stake in EPL to Indorama Netherlands B.V. The shares will be sold for Rs 240 apiece, according to an exchange filing.
Epsilon held 51.45% stake in EPL as of December, according to BSE shareholding pattern. Indorama currently does not hold any stake.
The sale is expected to be completed in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions and approvals including that of the Competition Commission of India and other anti-trust bodies in the identified jurisdictions, the filing said.
After the deal, Indorama will be entitled to appoint one nominee director on the board and its committees.
EPL is a specialty packaging company with operations in 11 countries through 21 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities.
Indorama is one of the world's leading chemicals producers, with a global manufacturing footprint across Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The company's portfolio comprises combined PET, fibers, indovinya, and indovida (formerly packaging).
EPL Share Price Down
EPL share price fell 3.4% soon after market open to Rs 229.5 apiece. The scrip was trading 2.5% lower at Rs 231.58 by 9:22 a.m. The benchmark NSE Nifty 50 was down 0.76%.
The stock has risen 22% in the last 12 months and fallen 11% on a year-to-date basis. The relative strength index was at 46.
All 10 analysts tracking EPL have a 'buy' rating on the stock, according to Bloomberg data. The average of 12-month analysts' price target of Rs 318 implies a potential upside of 36%.
