AstraZeneca Pharma India has deferred its plan to seek shareholder approval for delisting of the company’s shares. The company on Friday set a floor price of ₹854.10 a share for the delisting offer.
In a notice to the stock exchanges on Tuesday, AstraZeneca said it would defer the proposal to shareholders “in light of discussions with ICICI Securities Ltd, the manager, and Walker Chandoik & Co LLP, the valuer, and pending their response to clarifications and explanations sought from them.”
The company, however, did not disclose further details on the nature of clarifications. As the market participants were expecting an indicative price of about ₹1,500, shares of AstraZeneca Pharma ended down 2.81 per cent at ₹1,062.10 on the BSE.
In March, the board of AstraZeneca Pharma had approved the delisting proposal of its parent AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals AB. AstraZeneca said the delisting of the Indian unit and an increase in its ownership would provide it with “greater operational flexibility” to support the company’s business in the local market.
For the company, which had diluted its stake last May to meet SEBI’s shareholding norm of 75 per cent, this was a third attempt to delist its shares.
Earlier in 2004 and in 2010, AstraZeneca’s promoters had planned to delist the shares of its Indian arm, but had failed.