Emami hikes stake in Rama Newsprint to 5%

KOLKATA: FMCG major Emami Group has silently scaled up its holding in Rama Newsprint & Papers (RNPL) — an SK Bangur group-company, with interests in paper, paper boards and telecom cables — by a percentage point to roughly 5%. Top honchos of the Kolkata-based group termed the move as a strategic investment only.

As per the bulk deal details of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Emami group company Emami Paper Mills bought some eight lakh shares of Rama Newsprint & Papers from open market on February 9.

It bought some 4.18 lakh shares at Rs 29 on NSE and another 3.99 lakh shares at Rs 28.90 on BSE the same day. “Since Emami Group, through its various group companies, already held about 4%-plus of Rama Newsprint’s total equity, the two deals on NSE and BSE increased the group’s stake in the latter to more than 5%,” an Emami group official said.

Confirming the move, Emami group joint chairman RS Agarwal said: “It is a good investment and will help us earn good profits over the years. We are not interested in hostile takeover of a company with similar business interest.”