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Apollo Tyres to wait for order on Harshad Mehta's 15 pc stake

The board of directors of Apollo Tyres today decided to await a written order from the special court of Justice S N Variava before arriving at a decision on buying back the disputed 4.6 million shares held by Harshad Mehta.

The board was today informed about the oral order of the court, company sources said in New Delhi. ''They (the board) have decided to wait for the written order before taking any decision. The written order is expected next week,'' the sources added.

This was among the several routine matters, including the company's performance, which were discussed at the meeting.

The sources further pointed out that since the company's annual general meeting is scheduled for August, ''we are in no hurry to pass the resolution...It would be done nearer to the AGM.''

The special court had, on March 24, given Apollo Tyres the option of buying back the equity held by Mehta and reducing its share capital.

According to the company, a study of the court order reveals that it can either buyback the entire chunk of the equity or forego the option totally. There is no third option of buying back part of it and foregoing the rest.

The 4.6 million shares account for about 15 per cent of the company's equity, which stands at a little over Rs 300 million. The buyback would lead to further consolidation of vice-chairman and managing director Onkar S Kanwar's holding, which now stands at 22 per cent.

UNI

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