Billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries said on Thursday it has slashed its stake in Asian Paints, selling shares worth 77.04 billion rupees ($901 million).
India’s largest paintmaker is currently facing potential antitrust scrutiny, while its growth is being challenged by aggressive new entrants like the Aditya Birla Group’s Birla Opus, as well as urban consumers cutting back on discretionary spending.
Reliance Industries said that it has sold the stake through affiliate Siddhant Commercials, which until March had a 4.9% stake in the paintmaker, exchange data showed.
Following the sale, Reliance Industries will retain approximately 8.7 million shares, which represents a 0.9% stake in the company.
The oil-to-telecom conglomerate sold 35 million shares in Asian Paints at a price of 2,201 rupees per share, a discount to the stock’s Wednesday close of 2,208.8 rupees.
On Thursday, Asian Paints ended 0.48% up, but has underperformed the benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI both this year and last year.
Last month, the Economic Times reported Reliance was looking to sell all of its 4.9% stake and exit its 17-year-old investment.
The identities of the buyers were not immediately clear and will only be ascertained later in the day when exchanges update details of the session’s trade.
Reuters
