L&T acquires controlling stake in Mindtree, India's first hostile IT takeover ever

In March this year, L&T had bought 20.32 percent stake from coffee baron VG Siddhartha and companies related to him and as since kept buying stake in Mindtree from its promoters and through an ongoing open offer.

New Delhi: Indian conglomerate Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) has acquired a controlling (51 percent) stake in IT services company Mindtree Ltd, making it first hostile takeover in India's software services industry.

In March this year, the engineering conglomerate had bought 20.32 percent stake from coffee baron VG Siddhartha and companies related to him. It has since kept buying stake in Mindtree from its promoters and through an ongoing open offer.

Mindtree has been under the media and investor spotlight for months now - first on account of the takeover drama that unfolded earlier this year and more recently when Mindtree's board in mid-April proposed to pay a special dividend to shareholders, including promoters, that along with regular dividend and tax components would strip the mid-sized IT firm of about Rs 530 crore.

As of March 31, 2019, the promoters held 13.32 percent shares in Mindtree with the rest 86.68 percent held by the public.

With Agency Inputs