PTL bid results likely today

MUMBAI: The sale of 43.5% stake in Punjab Tractors could be concluded soon and an announcement by private equity firm Actis could come as early as Thursday evening, people close to the development said. They said negotiations were on late Wednesday evening between the sellers and Ashok Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra.

When contacted Mr K Sridharan, CFO of Ashok Leyland “ We are not aware of who has emerged the winner in the bidding process. We hope to get the results by tomorrow evening.” The Chennai-based commercial vehicle maker is looking to make its maiden foray into the Rs 10,000 crore Indian tractor market with PTL under its belt.

This week, the race for PTL had finally boiled down to two players-Ashok Leyland and Mahindra & Mahindra after the Tata Group backed out of the race and Tafe seemed like an unlikely winner. According to merchant banking sources M&M offered a part cash, part stock deal while Ashok Leyland’s offer was all cash. The final bids were believed to be in the range of Rs 300-350. The final bid prices were an improvement over the initial Rs 50 premium over the then prevalent share price of Rs 255.