Goodyear India accepts delisting proposal of parent

Goodyear India Ltd (GIL) announced on Tuesday that its board has approved the proposal received from the parent company, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (GTRC) to buy out the remaining stake in the company and delist it from the stock market.

Shareholding pattern

GTRC has approved an indicative price of Rs 245 per share, which represents a premium of 33 per cent over the closing price of GIL of Rs 183.95 on February 5, 2010.

US-based GTRC is the majority shareholder of Goodyear India with a 74 per cent stake of GIL's approximately 23.1 million outstanding shares.

Goodyear shares at the BSE reached the maximum daily high of 20 per cent at Rs 223.50 on Friday's close, on the back of the news.

“[The board has] considered and approved the proposal received from GTRC on February 8, to (either directly or through one or more of its wholly owned subsidiaries) initiate a voluntary delisting of the equity shares of the Company from the Bombay Stock Exchange Ltd,” said the company in a statement to the BSE.

Delisting plan

It further added that, “The delisting proposal will be placed before the shareholders of the Company for their consideration and to seek their approval by a special resolution passed through postal ballot in accordance with the delisting regulations.”

“The final price will be determined in accordance with the reverse book building process prescribed under the delisting regulations of India. This action underscores the company's historical commitment to the Indian market since 1922, as well as the country's significant importance to the company's long term global strategy,” it said.

The company has retained the services of Citigroup Global Markets India to serve as the merchant banker for the delisting proposal.

Source : Business Line (Online Edition) (2/9/2010)