Bank invokes 29.5% shareholding in India’s Falcon Tyres

The Singapore branch of Indian bank and financial services company ICICI Bank has taken a major share in Falcon Tyres Ltd after invoking pledged shares held by promoters. ICICI Bank took ownership of just over 22.85 million of the BSE-listed shares on 4 December.

As of 30 September 2014, promoters held a 31.62 per cent share in Falcon Tyres Ltd, the largest of which being the 30.35 per cent stake, or 23,513,100 shares, owned by Dil Rim Vheel Corporation Ltd. Major public shareholders include Suncap Commodities Ltd and Regus Impex Pvt Ltd, which each hold a 19.60 per cent share, and Salputri Commerce Pvt Ltd, which possesses 16.80 per cent.

The tyre maker posted a net loss of Rs 205.15 million (£2.12 million) for the first six months of its current financial year, to 30 September 2014, with losses in the most recent quarter period alone amounting to Rs 96.10 million (just under £1 million).

Falcon Tyres currently supplies the Dunlop brand of tyres in the Indian market; the brand is said to have a market share of just 2.6 per cent today, down from a market-dominating one third in the 1980s. In addition to supplying Dunlop, Falcon Tyres manufactures tyres under the Falcon and Donin brand names. The company claims a monthly production capacity of 1 million tyres at its Mysore facility.