The committee said the move 'clearly undervalued the company and its long-term growth prospects'.
The decision of the committee, comprising five members whom the company’s board considers free from conflicts of interest with regard to the proposal, is seen as a shot in the arm for minority shareholders, who had termed the possible offer by Essar Global Funds Ltd 'opportunistic'.
EGFL has the option of revising the price in its final offer by March 14.
Essar Energy had last week said EGFL had made a possible offer of 70 pence a share for the 22 per cent stake it did not already own in the company.
The Ruia brothers, who hold a controlling stake in Essar Energy, are beneficiaries of EGFL.
Essar Energy’s assets include the Stanlow oil refinery in Northwest England, besides power stations and oil refining facilities in India.
It raised 1.3 billion pounds by listing its shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) at 420 pence apiece in 2010.
Since then, the stock has fallen significantly. It closed at 64.55 pence on LSE on Friday.
“The independent committee is unanimous in its conclusion and is fully committed to safeguarding the interests of minority shareholders,” Philip Aiken, the committee’s chairman, said
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