Mumbai, August 27, 2013: Mr B L Jatia, Chairman of Westlife Development Limited, a company listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE: 505533), today sounded the bell at the start of the trading session. The ringing of the bell marked the increased opportunity for Indian investors to participate in the scrip following the consolidation of group companies and consequent expansion of the equity base to 15 crore shares.
The Bell Ringing ceremony was held in the presence of Mr Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO, BSE, Mr Siddharth Mehta, Founder & CEO, Bay Capital, Mr. Dharmesh Mehta, Managing Director – Institutional Equities, Axis Capital and Mr Sonal Jain, Country Head India, CLSA.
As a result of the consolidation of group companies, Hardcastle Restaurants Private Limited (HRPL), a Master Franchisee for west & south India operations of McDonald’s Restaurants, is now a direct subsidiary of Westlife Development Limited (WDL).
Speaking at the Bell Ringing ceremony, Mr. Amit Jatia, Vice-Chairman of Westlife Development Limited said, “ This is a momentous day and hour for Westlife Development and I am proud to bring to Indian investors an opportunity to share in the future in India of the world’s most famous brand, McDonald’s. There has been a huge demand for Westlife shares ever since we submitted the scheme to the Court. From today, interested investors will be able to actively participate in the company through a much larger base of available shares.”
“The consolidation of our companies under Westlife Development opens up options for us to accelerate our growth plans for expanding McDonald’s restaurants in west and south India. The consolidation will also open up opportunities for the India market to invest in the growth of the McDonald’s Franchisee, HRPL, through Westlife Development. We have an outstanding brand and an aligned system that makes us uniquely well-positioned to benefit from the available growth opportunities.”
The consolidation of B.L. Jatia group companies, HRPL (through its majority shareholder, Triple A Foods), and Westpoint Leisureparks Pvt. Ltd (majority shareholder of Triple A Foods), under Westlife Development Limited was completed recently. The B.L. Jatia family holds majority ownership in these companies.