Wockhardt owners pledge 61% of co!

Debt-ridden drug firm Wockhardt said its promoters have pledged 6.7 crore shares...

Debt-ridden drug firm Wockhardt today said its promoters have pledged 6.7 crore shares,representing 61.87 per cent holding in the company.

The company,however,didn’t disclosed to whom the shares have been pledged and also the reason behind it.

In a filing to Bombay Stock Exchange,the Mumbai-headquartered drug major said its promoter firm,Khorakiwala Holdings and Investments Private Ltd,on June 7,2010,has pledged 6.29 crore shares,representing a holding of around 61.47 per cent in the company.

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In addition,Wockhardt Chairman H F Khorakiwala has also pledged his entire holding of 4.42 lakh shares,representing around a 0.4 per cent stake in the company.

The shares pledged by both parties account for a 61.87 per cent stake in the company,the filing said.

Wockhardt,which had reported a net loss of over Rs 565 crore in the fourth quarter ended March 31,2010,is currently undergoing a corporate debt restructuring process.

It has been burdened with debt of more than Rs 3,700 crore for over the last one-and-a-half years and is in the process of selling its non-core business activities to repay the debt.

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Its attempt to sell its nutritional business to Abbott Laboratories in a deal estimated at Rs 650 crore was terminated in April this year,eight months after an agreement was announced.