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Bajaj Holdings picks up 12.82% stake in NMCE

 Bajaj Holdings and Investment (Bajaj Holdings) on Wednesday picked up a 12.82 per cent stake in the Ahmedabad-based National Multi Commodity Exchange of India (NMCE) for Rs 25 crore.

The investment, along with Equirus Capital as the exclusive financial advisor to NMCE, will partially meet the regulatory capital requirement, and also help towards the strengthening of its information technology (IT) infrastructure, business development and human resources.

Besides raising its share capital from Rs 16.67 crore to Rs 19.12 crore, the investment will help NMCE meet its regulatory capital requirement and strengthen its balance sheet for investment in IT infrastructure.

“Since a lot will go towards the premium account, our share capital, which was Rs 16.67 crore before the investment, will now be Rs 19.12 crore. And, our net worth will be at Rs 62 crore. However, Forward Markets Commission’s rules require us to have a capital base of Rs 50 crore. We are Rs 30.88 crore less in our share capital, and Rs 38 crore in net worth. We hope to cover these up by March 31, 2011,” said Anil Mishra, managing director and CEO, NMCE.

The exchange, which is now valued at over Rs 200 crore, is open to different options of raising further capital, including through institutional investors, rights issue, bonus issue or a combination of these. “We are in talks with a few more equity players for investment and are also looking at other options,” added Mishra.

“NMCE is a pioneer, with the most institutionalised electronic commodity exchange in India. We are pleased to partner with a reputed business house like Bajaj Group in our next stage of growth. We believe this association will further diversify our investor base and facilitate in strengthening the exchange’s infrastructure and ecosystem,” said Kailash Gupta, vice-chairman, NMCE.

Meanwhile, the equity stake of other shareholders was diluted after the investment by Bajaj Holdings, wherein Neptune Overseas will now hold 30.18 per cent and Central Warehousing Corporation will hold 29.7 per cent stake in the company.

Similarly, the stake of Reliance Capital in NMCE was diluted to 8.72 per cent from 10 per cent.

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