M&M board authorises bid for 43 per cent Punjab Tractor stake

06 March 2007

Mumbai: The board of auto major Mahindra and Mahindra (M&M) has approved the proposal to bid for a 43 per cent stake in Punjab Tractors Ltd (PTL). The company, however, did not disclose details of the bid.

Dabur group promoter Burman family and private equity firm Actis who jointly hold nearly 43 per cent stake in PTL are selling their shares in the company.

While Actis holds around 29 per cent, the Burman family holds 14.15 per cent stake in PTL. Together, the 43 per cent stake is valued at over Rs1,000 crore.

Besides M&M, there are six players who had put in bids for the 43 per cent PTL stake.

The Hindujas-promoted Ashok Leyland, the Tata group and the Italian tractor major SAME Deutz-Fahr seem to have emerged as the major contenders in the race.

The other players are TAFE, Sonalika group and a private equity consortium. It is learnt that the bid put in by the Sonalika group has been disqualified, as the bid price was too low. A few bidders are expected to put in higher bids in the final rounds.