Ipca Labs offers Rs.54/share to Krebs’ shareholders

Ipca Laboratories has made an open offer to buy a 26 per cent stake or 35.7 lakh shares of Krebs Biochemicals & Industries at Rs.54 a share. The open offer follows Ipca Labs subscribing to 23 lakh shares of Krebs Bio on a preferential basis, the company said in a notice to the stock exchanges. The transaction is subject to necessary approvals.

At the end of December, promoters hold 48.33 per cent stake in Krebs Biochemicals while institutions control just 1.36 per cent. Some 6,130 individual shareholders have 36.34 per cent stake in the company. Of them, just 24 high net worth shareholders control 12.14 per cent stake.

Ipca Labs posted a net profit of Rs.41.53 crore for the quarter ended December 2014 on revenues of Rs.740.65 crore, while Krebs Biochemicals has been making losses for successive quarters. On Friday, shares of Ipca Labs edged up 1.7 per cent at Rs.680.95 on the BSE, while Krebs’ shares climbed 10 per cent to close at Rs.68.95.