Shares of Astec LifeSciences rose for the 4th day

Astec LifeSciences Ltd., a mid-sized drugs major, rose for the 4th day after a larger rival made an open offer to existing shareholders to buy more stake in the company.

Unlisted Godrej Agrovet Ltd. floated an open offer for buying an additional 26 percent stake in Astec at 246 rupees a share, aggregating 125 crore rupees, after it had already purchased 45.3 percent equity from promoters for 190 rupees a share. If the open offer were to succeed, Godrej Agrovet would end up owning 71.3 percent stake in Astec.

As a result, Astec rose 6 rupees, or 2.4 percent, to 248 rupees on the National Stock Exchange, where 8.14 lakh shares were traded versus the 5-day average of 2.3 lakh shares.

Astec has seen is market capitalisation jump 290 percent in the past one year to 492 crore rupees. The stock is quoting at 3.6 times its book value of 70.5 rupees and the company has seen its sales grow 19.5 percent compounded over the past five years.

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