A day after the Company Law Board (CLB) granted Purnendu Chatterjee absolute control of Haldia Petrochemicals Ltd, he has expressed a desire for an "amicable solution", as he feels CLB order helps only the interest of West Bengal government, and is complex and open to interpretation. Chatterjee, who holds a 54% stake, fell out with the West Bengal government two years ago.
Interestingly, the West Bengal government, which holds a 33% stake, has realised that the CLB order is not as bad as it looked initially, as the government is aware of the obstacles in Chatterjee's path to come up upfront with the entire cash price. To buy out the state's 520 million shares, Chatterjee would have to shell out Rs 1,502 crore at the last offered price of Rs 28.80 per share. The CLB also has given this as a floor price and an alternative --- which is a fresh valuation by a CLB appointed valuer. Chatterjee would have to pay much more if he has buy the 270 million preference shares, for which no price has been set out. Chatterjee will have to shell out the money within 45 days of the date of the valuation report. The CLB has also fixed February 20 as the date for agreeing on a valuer. If Chatterjee fails to pay up by the deadline, the state can encash his bank guarantee of Rs 50 crore.
02-Feb-07 
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