Reliance Petroleum's Triple Option Convertible Debentures (B)

The purpose was to enable investors to use the new conversion option, which involved phased allotment of three equity shares with a face value of Rs 10 each, in lieu of Rs 40 paid-up non-convertible debentures along with the detachable warrants. As per the option, the first equity share at par would be allotted in November 1999 (the 6th year), followed by two equity shares at a premium of Rs 5 each in November 2000 (the 7th year) and November 2001 (the 8th year). The period from May 1998 to June 1998 was the period during which the conversion offer would operate. In case the TOCD holders did not want to opt for the new option, they could get the non-convertible portion of the TOCD redeemed in three installments...

The share price witnessed a sharp rise from around Rs.22 at the beginning of the financial year 1999 to about Rs.60 by the end of it. RPL's financial performance over the next two financial years had been impressive with a net profit worth Rs 14.64 billion in 2000-2001 and Rs 16.74 billion in 2001-2002 on revenues amounting to Rs 309.63 billion and Rs.331.17 billion respectively. However, during September 2002, the share price of RPL stood at around Rs.23. The earnings per share (EPS) of the RPL stock remained at three, but there had been a sharp decline in its P/E multiple from 18 in 2001 to only 8 in 2002. There was a delay in dismantling the administrative pricing mechanism, which was expected to benefit RPL profits significantly...