Essar Ports soars 4% on stake sale buzz

Shares of Essar Ports soared as much as 6.3% to an intra-day high of Rs 91.70 on Thursday on market speculation that Port of Antwerp may acquire around 9% in the company for around 25 million euros. The market was abuzz with talk that Essar Ports had made an offer to sell shares at Rs 100 apiece through a preferential allotment.

“We signed a memorandum of understanding with Port of Antwerp last years for a collaboration which will entail an equity investment by them. We are in constant talk with them but nothing has been finalised so far,” a top executive from Essar Ports told ET. “Port of Antwerp would only be picking up a small stake in the company, whenever that happens. Our tie-up will be more for technology and strategy,” he said.

Essar Ports and Port of Antwerp singed a pact in February 2011 for long- term collaboration in the field of consultancy, training, commercial and investment opportunities. Market sources and Essar group executives said the speculation of the stake sale was triggered after a Mumbai-based mid-sized institutional brokerage with two managing directors made a “buy” call on Essar Ports in the morning and subsequently told their investors that the deal may have been sealed. Port of Antwerp had said that it wants to acquire a stake in Essar Ports by December 2012. Essar Ports shares closed up 4.2% at Rs 89.90.