Axon board to vote in favour of HCL Tech

The UK-based SAP consultancy Axon Group's directors have entered into irrevocable undertakings with HCL EAS - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian IT services provider HCL Technologies - to vote or procure vote in favour of the resolutions to be proposed at the Indian unit's meetings with regard to the entire beneficial holding of the British company's shares.

The shares represent around 0.2 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Axon.

The undertakings, according to a BSE announcement, remain binding even if a higher offer is made by a third party, but cease to be binding if the HCL scheme is withdrawn or lapses, or if the HCL acquisition is implemented by way of a takeover offer.

HCL Technologies had purchased 6.71 million shares of Axon from the open market on October 12, representing 10.43 per cent of the British company's total paid up capital.

On October 10, with the consent of the UK's Takeover Panel and Axon, HCL decided to implement the offer by way of a 'scheme of arrangement'.

On October 8, HCL EAS acquired 3,01,623 Axon shares, which represented approximately 0.47 per cent of the current issued share capital of Axon.

On September 26, the board of HCL Technologies announced the terms of a cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Axon at a price of 650 pence per share (higher than the Infosys bid of 600 pence per share, after which India's second largest IT services provider decided to drop out of the bidding race).

DSP Merrill Lynch, is acting as the financial advisor for HCL EAS and HCL Technologies.