BEML rallies on talk of L&T buying government stake

Compiled by Rajesh Mascarenhas

Shares of BEML rallied as much as 5.3% on Thursday on market speculation that Larsen & Toubro is a front runner for buying government's 26% stake in the company.

BEML on Thursday postponed the board meeting for declaring quarterly results from February 10 to February 13 citing administrative reasons.

Meanwhile, reports said Larsen & Toubro is likely to make a strategic announcement for its defence business on February 13, sparking speculation that the engineering-to-software conglomerate will announce that it is buying a stake in the state-owned company.

The government, which holds 54.03% stake in BEML, had approved the strategic sale of 26% stake in the company. In response to a query from ET on the matter, an L&T spokesperson said, “As a matter of policy, L&T does not comment on market speculation."