Pricol denies Minda Corp claim of buying 15.7% stake in firm for Rs 400 cr

Coimbatore-based automotive components company denies promoters selling stake

Minda Corporation on Friday announced acquiring a 15.7 per cent stake in Pricol, which denied the Rs 400-crore deal and said it will not allow a hostile takeover.

Minda, in an exchange filing, said that it has bought 19.1 million shares of Coimbatore-based Pricol for Rs 400 crore at Rs 209 per unit in an open-market transaction that did not need prior approvals. Minda said the investment will strengthen its presence in the dashboard instruments business, but it will not fetch it any special rights in Pricol.

Pricol’s promoter group, which holds 36.53 per cent in the automotive components company, told BSE it is unaware about the deal and dismissed any plans of making a secondary sale or raising investment. The group later told the media it will not allow any hostile takeover by Minda.

“Our company has no information in this regard. Minda Corporation is a competitor in one of our major business segments,” Pricol said in a stock exchange filing. “The promoter group stands fully committed to the company and that they have absolutely no intent in undertaking any secondary sale of promoter’s stake.” The public shareholding in Pricol is 63.47 per cent.

Pricol is one of India's leading dashboard manufacturers and caters to automotive original equipment manufacturers for two- and three-wheelers, passenger vehicles, commercial vehicles, farm equipment and off-road vehicles in India and in international markets. The company has eight manufacturing facilities across Coimbatore, Manesar, Pantnagar, Pune, Satara and Sri City in India. It has a manufacturing plant in Jakarta, Indonesia, and international offices in Tokyo, Singapore and Dubai.