ABG Shipyard gets approval for Great Offshore bid

Private shipbuilder ABG Shipyard Ltd has received regulatory approval for its open offer to buy a controlling stake in offshore services provider Great Offshore, a company official said on Thursday. "We have received approvals for the open offer," ABG Shipyard Chief Financial Officer Dhananjay Datar told Reuters.
The move would intensify the battle for the provider of oil rigs and offshore platforms, as newspapers on Thursday reported rival Bharati Shipyard also received approvals for the open offer.
Officials at Bharati Shipyard did not offer any immediate comment.
ABG Shipyard and India's second largest shipmaker, Bharati Shipyard, are competing to acquire stake in Great Offshore.
Both the companies have revised bid prices several times, with the latest offer by ABG Shipyard at Rs 520 and Bharati at Rs 560 a share.
When asked whether ABG Shipyard would increase the bid price, Datar said: "That's something we really can't discuss, that's only when time comes we will do whatever we want to."
At 11.36 a.m., shares of ABG Shipyard were up 4 per cent to Rs 209.90, while Bharti Shipyard was down 0.76 per cent to Rs 294.60 in a weak Mumbai market down 0.4 per cent.