Bangalore: Software major Infosys Technologies today (Dec 18, 2004) got shareholders' approval for its secondary sponsored American Depository Shares (ADS) of 16 million shares.

Infosys board received the nod at an extraordinary general meeting in Bangalore. Infosys chairman and mentor N R Narayana Murthy spoke to shareholders over video-conference from Bangkok.

Murthy said the value of shares on offer for ADS is over $ 1 billion at the end of trading on Thursday, even as some minority shareholders expressed reservation for the sponsored issue.

The Bangalore-based Infosys was the first Indian firm to list its ADS on the Nasdaq stock exchange in 1999.

Infosys managing director and CEO Nandan M Nilekani told reporters that the company would soon hold road-shows in various countries to attract foreign institutional investors to buy the shares, while in Japan, the stock would be allotted to retail investors.

The Indian shareholders will have an offer to sell their stock at a premium than the price that it is being traded on the Indian stock market.

Infosys shares closed at Rs 2,105 on Friday end on the Bombay Stock Exchange, while it was traded at $ 68 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

The promoters hold 22 per cent of Infosys equity, while foreign institutional investors hold 40.58 per cent and the Indian public 20.77 per cent with the remaining held by mutual funds and private bodies.