Speaking to CNBC-TV18, Poddar, who holds over 16 percent in MCF, said that he consulted Mallya before buying the stake. Mallya, had then agreed to form as a joint venture with Zuari.
Also read: Firmly in control of Mangalore Chemicals: Vijay Mallya
"Now, if Vijay Mallya has changed that view then he needs to communicate that. And then the board will take a decision of what it feels is the right decision for the company," adds Poddar who is also the chairman of Adventz Group.
Poddar has said he is willing to sell the MCF stake in the open market or even to Deepak Fertilisers if Mallya doesn't give any clarity on the proposed JV. Deepak Fertilisers and Zuari have been jostling to take over the Rs 3000-crore company.
Below is the edited transcript of Poddar's interview to CNBC-TV18.
Q: Let us start with Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilizers (MCF), if you could give us the current situation as it stands right now?
A: We have a little over 16 percent stake in MCF and the status is really that there is no change since the acquisition by us and by Deepak. The ball is in Vijay Mallya's court and he has to take a decision of how to move forward.
Q: Why did you buy stake in MCF and are you looking to collaborate with Deepak Fertilisers at all?
A: Let me clarify, I bought the shares after consulting Vijay Mallya and after an agreement with him that he will not divest them but enter into a joint venture with Zuari and that was the motive behind our acquisition of the shares. Now, if Vijay Mallya has changed that view then he needs to communicate that. And then the board will take a decision of what it feels is the right decision for the company.
Q: So are you looking to sell stake to either Vijay Mallya or perhaps even Deepak Fertilizer?
A: There is no discussing , if Mallya is interested in buying my stake then let him make an offer. We will certainly sell the stake if Mallya is not willing to enter into a join venture because we don't want to hold this as a pure investment portfolio.
Q: Was there any strategic intent for buying MCF stake?
A: We were certainly looking at it because we felt that MCF and Zuari are so close to each other and the market being common, it would make a lot of sense for these companies to work together. We could add a lot of value to MCF and that is what Vijay and I had discussed and we had agreed in principle that we shall work this company MCF into a joint venture between UB Group and Adventz Group.
Q: So have you heard lately from Vijay Mallya on this supposed JV?
A: No he hasn't yet taken a decision and I am waiting to hear from him.
Q: Kalindee Rail Nirman is a stock which is in focus, what is the update on that and the open offer proposal?
A: We have around 36 percent today in Kalindee and the open offer proposal is with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). We are awaiting Sebi's approval. As soon as Sebi approves the open offer, the open offer will start and we hope to complete this within the next month or two.
Q: So can we assume that perhaps you are the white knight in this entire triangle or it is purely strategic?
A: No, I am not a white knight. These acquisitions have not been done in the status of a white knight. We believe these are strategic investments for our businesses and which is why these investments were made. As far as Kalindee is concerned, we are today a product company in Texmaco . Kalindee gets us into the service sector, so we strongly believe that a consolidated product and service company adds much greater value to Texmaco as well as to Kalindee.
Q: If the investment is purely strategic in nature will you perhaps sell stake in MCF if the JV doesn't workout?
A: Let me clarify, Zuari bought these shares after consulting with Vijay Mallya and based on that discussion that we should work towards a JV in MCF. Mallya was keen that we should work together, so he accepted my proposal and he called me to say that I could bid at the State Bank of India ( SBI ) shares and that is why I bought the SBI shares. Now after Deepak bought the shares obviously Mallya is still not sure how he wishes to proceed. So if he is not interested in a JV or a divestment then we are not interested in holding these shares. We will divest it at the best possible price Zuari can get.
Q: What is the broader strategy now for your group?
A: Our strategy is that we would want to go into the areas where we already have a significant market share and that comprises primarily of engineering and agriculture, fertilizers, seeds and agrochemicals. These are the areas of our growth areas and these are the areas where the group will invest additional sums of money and expand capacities.
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