MUMBAI, March 22 - Indian energy-to-steel conglomerate Essar Group is planning to become totally private, and none of its group companies will be listed, two newspapers said on Sunday, quoting group Chairman Shashi Ruia.
"Our wish is to become a privately held group which gives us enough freedom to function in a more aggressive way," the Financial Express newspaper quoted him as saying.
The Business Line report also quoted Ruia as saying the Essar group would go private, with none of its operations listed on stock markets. He did not spell out the reasoning for such a move, the report added.
But a spokesman for the Essar Group told Reuters there were no current plans to delist any of the group companies, which include Essar Oil and Essar Shipping Ports and Logistics.
"We have no plans to de-list as of now. The chairman was misquoted. What he said was there were no plans to further list any other companies in the group," he told Reuters.
The group decided to delist Essar Oil and Essar Shipping in 2006 and 2007, but called off both moves. In the case of Essar Shipping, it did not get an adequate response from shareholders to an offer to buy back their shares.
Essar Steel, a group firm, was delisted in 2007.
The group has also decided to postpone the expansion of its refinery at Vadinar, in western India, the Financial Express report said.
"Given the current circumstances, the group has decided to postpone the expansion of the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat at least for eight months," the paper quoted Ruia as telling reporters in Chennai on Saturday at the inauguration of a Essar Steel unit.
He said the group had arranged $3.4 billion in financing for the $6 billion expansion plan, which would increase capacity of the Vadinar refinery to 34 million tonnes per year from 12.5 million tonnes, but had decided to delay the project.
"Our wish is to become a privately held group which gives us enough freedom to function in a more aggressive way," the Financial Express newspaper quoted him as saying.
The Business Line report also quoted Ruia as saying the Essar group would go private, with none of its operations listed on stock markets. He did not spell out the reasoning for such a move, the report added.
But a spokesman for the Essar Group told Reuters there were no current plans to delist any of the group companies, which include Essar Oil and Essar Shipping Ports and Logistics.
"We have no plans to de-list as of now. The chairman was misquoted. What he said was there were no plans to further list any other companies in the group," he told Reuters.
The group decided to delist Essar Oil and Essar Shipping in 2006 and 2007, but called off both moves. In the case of Essar Shipping, it did not get an adequate response from shareholders to an offer to buy back their shares.
Essar Steel, a group firm, was delisted in 2007.
The group has also decided to postpone the expansion of its refinery at Vadinar, in western India, the Financial Express report said.
"Given the current circumstances, the group has decided to postpone the expansion of the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat at least for eight months," the paper quoted Ruia as telling reporters in Chennai on Saturday at the inauguration of a Essar Steel unit.
He said the group had arranged $3.4 billion in financing for the $6 billion expansion plan, which would increase capacity of the Vadinar refinery to 34 million tonnes per year from 12.5 million tonnes, but had decided to delay the project.
