Titan Co to pay $560m to raise stake in CaratLane

MUMBAI, Aug 20 (Reuters): India's Tata Group-owned Titan Co will raise its stake in its subsidiary CaratLane Trading by 27.2 per cent for 46.21 billion rupees ($555.8 million), the parent company said in an exchange filing on Saturday.

Titan has entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all the 91,90,327 equity shares held by the founder of CaratLane Trading and his family members, representing 27.18 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of CaratLane on a fully diluted basis.

Unlisted CaratLane makes and sells jewellery. Titan, a joint venture between the Tata Group and Tamilnadu Industrial Development Corp, started as a watch company but has diversified into jewellery and eye care.

On completion of the purchase, Titan will hold 98.28 per cent of CaratLane on a fully diluted basis, up from 71.09 per cent.

"The transaction will be subject to completion of customary regulatory approvals and closing conditions and is expected to be financed through a combination of cash balances, internal accruals and debt," Titan said. The indicative time period to complete the purchase has been set at Oct. 31.