Blue Star rose by 46.77 per cent last week. The rise was imminent as the High Court approved the spin off of the international software division into a separate company. The spin off would be effective October 1, 1998. The spin off was earlier opposed by the Blue Star Employees Federation on various grounds.

The international software division to be called Blue Star Infotech (BSIL) will be created with an equity capital of Rs 10 crore with the parent holding a 29 per cent stake in the company. Simultaneously, for every four shares in Blue Star, shareholders will get three shares of Blue Star and one share of the software company.

BSIL's clients include Hewlett-Packard 3M and Hitachi Medical Corporation. The company currently handles projects such as worldwide general accounting and field project management and network users accounting for Hewlett-Packard. Blue Star is engaged in diverse operations but is mainly an air-conditioning and refrigeration company.