ITC Tanks As BAT Sells 2.3 Pc Stake

New Delhi: British multinational BAT Plc on Wednesday trimmed its stake in conglomerate ITC by 2.3 per cent through a block deal worth about Rs 12,927 crore ($1.51 billion), according to the deal terms accessed by PTI.

After the stake sale, shares of ITC slipped 1.46 per cent to trade at Rs 419.85 apiece on the NSE. British American Tobacco (BAT), through its arm Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd, sold the stake in Kolkata-based ITC. Before the latest transaction, BAT through its affiliates -- Rothmans International Enterprises, Myddleton Investment Company and Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd -- owned a combined 25.44 per cent stake in ITC Ltd. As per the block deal, up to 29 crore equity shares of ITC were sold at a floor price of Rs 400 per share. This represents a discount of about 7.8 per cent to ITC’s closing price of Rs 433.90 on NSE on Tuesday, sources said. BAT will remain a significant shareholder of ITC, with a 23.1 per cent holding in FMCG-to-hotel conglom-erate ITC. The stock tanked 4.33 per cent to Rs 415.10 on the BSE. At the NSE, it tumbled 4.81 per cent to Rs 413. The stock emerged as the biggest laggard among the BSE Sensex firms.