Heard on the street: EIH owners pledged a part of their holding to subscribe to rights offer

The market believes the Oberois of EIH could have borrowed funds to subscribe to the company's rights issue which was completed recently. Adding credence to their belief is the latest disclosures by the hospitality major which owns and manages Oberoi and Trident brands of hotels.

Two EIH promoters Arjun Singh Oberoi and Vikram Singh Oberoi pledged more than one-third of their combined personal holdings on March 8 — right in the middle of the Rs 1,200-crore offer which was open for subscription between March 1 and 15. While the promoters are expected to have fully subscribed to their portion, other major shareholders Reliance Industries and Max group chairman Analjit Singh too are learnt to have responded positively to the offer.

The shares of EIH rose sharply in the past few days of the offer, up over 7% between March 14 and 17. The stock, however, lost ground on Friday to close 1.5% down at Rs 81 on the BSE. Company officials were not available for comments.

Torrent Power jumps on talk of overseas acquisition

Torrent Power gained sharply as some analysts felt that the company was planning to buy a minority stake in an overseas coal mines. However, this could not be confirmed from the company. Torrent Power is expediting its efforts for securing fuel supply — an issue that many thermal power companies have to grapple with, say analysts.

In a weak market on Friday, the stock climbed 7.2% to close at Rs 244. Around 2.7 lakh shares changed hands on the BSE, against 14,329 on the previous day.

Contributed by Vijay Gurav & Pradeep Pandey