The offer represented a 5% premium to Gujarat’s closing share price of 19c on January 29, 2013 and a 15% premium to the volume weighted average share price over the previous three months from and including October 30, 2012, Jindal said in its bidders statement.

“The 20c cash offer allows Gujarat’s shareholders to realise full and fair value for their shares in a volatile equity market,” the company said.

Gujarat NRE Coking Coal has been told by its major shareholder, the Gujarat

NRE group of companies which has approximately 64% of the issued capital in the company, that it does not accept the Jindal offer.

Jindal is already a 19.48% shareholder of the company after the Illawarra-based Gujarat placed 100 million shares at $0.25 per share with Jindal, which also secured supply of coking coal with an offtake agreement last August.

New Delhi-based Jindal has an annual turnover of $US3.5 billion and is part of the $15 billion diversified OP Jindal Group.

It has committed investments exceeding $15-20 billion in the future and has several business initiatives running simultaneously across continents.

The target’s statement – which will be released on or before Thursday, February 14, 2013 – will make a formal recommendation to shareholders about the offer.

Jindal’s bid will remain open until at least March 15, 2013 and may be extended.

Gujarat has appointed Ernst & Young Transaction Advisory Services as its corporate adviser and Steinepreis Paganin as its legal adviser.

Gujarat’s shares reached A21.5c in Friday afternoon trade.