Suzuki Motor Corporation chairman Osamu Suzuki will visit India on July 7, virtually coinciding with the listing of its joint venture car company Maruti Udyog at the National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange following an overwhelming response to the public offer.
Although there is time till July 15 for the listing of the MUL shares at the two bourses after sale of 7.9 crore (79 million) government shares, it could be done by July 7-8, 2003, sources associated with the divestment process said.
The Japanese automaker has a majority control of Maruti in which the government had put on sale 25 per cent of its equity through a just-concluded initial public offer.
When contacted, Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said, "I think Suzuki is coming on July 7 to Delhi. I will be meeting him."
He said the remaining 20 per cent stake of the government was expected to be divested within the next one year.
"We are limited by the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) rules of one year," he said.
The Cabinet Committee on Divestment headed by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee is expected to meet early this month to finalise the offer price for the shares.
The ministerial panel had earlier recommended offloading the shares at Rs 125 per shares on a face value of Rs 5.
"We only have to report to them (CCD). That has been cleared by the finance minister," Shourie said.
The government had put 25 per cent of its equity in Maruti on sale totalling 7.2 crore (72 million) shares along with a green-shoe option to retain a further ten per cent, thereby increasing the size of the public offer to 7.9 crore shares.
The public issue had closed on June 19, and was oversubscribed almost thirteen times.
Following the divestment, government holding in the company would fall to 20 per cent and the remaining equity would be offered to the public through a second tranche slated to hit the market next year.
Owing to the tremendous response, government had decided to rework the quantum of shares set aside for various investor categories in favour of retail investors.
The government had earlier indicated that as much as 60 per cent would be set aside for qualified institutional buyers with the remaining being set aside for high net worth buyers and retail investors.
The revised quotas would seek to set aside as much as 60 per cent of the offering for retail investors.
Last year, government had ceded management control to Suzuki through a Rs 400 crore (Rs 4 billion) rights issue which was sold for a premium of Rs 1000 crore.
