The Kolkata-based  jute industrialist Joy Kankaria has made an expression of interest to acquire the Maharashtra government's 27 per cent stake in Maharashtra Scooters Ltd for Rs 200 a share.

MSL, the maker of Priya scooters, is a joint venture between Western Maharashtra Development Corporation, a government investment agency, and Bajaj Auto Ltd.

Rahul Bajaj, chairman of Bajaj Auto is also the chairman of MSL. The Bajaj company holds 24 per cent  in the company.

The Kankaria bid is priced at nearly two-and-a-half times of Rs 79, Monday's closing rate, and four times of Rs 50, the rate what Bajaj quoted while expressing his interest to acquire the government's stake in the company in March last year. The 52-week high of the stock stands at Rs 101.

The bid to acquire the government's 27 per cent stake, if it were permitted, needs to be followed by a 20 per cent open offer to the minority shareholders, as per the Sebi guidelines. At Rs 200 a share, the acquisition of 47 per cent stake costs Kankaria Rs 107 crore (Rs 1.07 billion).

In a letter written in the end of May, Kankaria urged the Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to permit him to carry on a due diligence exercise.

He also asked the government to give him a copy of the valuation report prepared by the rating agency Crisil.

He said: "The indicative price bid of Rs 200 is based on the valuation of the MSL stock by Crisil. There is a strong possibility that the actual bid will be higher than the indicative one."

Kankaria, owner of a number of jute mills in India as well as Nepal, said funding of the offer will be not be a problem. He is said to earn a couple of crores of rupees every month from house rent alone.

But does he have the required expertise to run a two-wheeler company? Kankaria replied that he would seek technological assistance of a foreign firm, if required, in case he would manage to wrest the management control of the company.

He added that his intention was not to make a hostile takeover but "to ensure that actions were taken and that BAL acted in the larger interest of all the shareholders by paying the right price."

The Bajaj offer, which flopped at Rs 50, created a furore as a section of brokers felt the price did not reflect the  true value of the company. This follows a valuation of the stock by Crisil.

MSL has reported a net profit of Rs 30.40 lakh (Rs 3.04 million)over a gross turnover of Rs 62.48 crore (Rs 624.8 million) last year. Experts say the company's strength lies in its huge reserves of Rs 155.29 crore (RS 1.552 billion).