The Adanis on Friday sold close to 2.80 per cent of Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL) for ₹4,250.64 crore, with Rajiv Jain-led GQG Partners picking up part of the shares.
Bulk deals data from the NSE showed Holderind Investments Ltd, a promoter entity, divesting 6.79 crore shares at ₹625.5 per share.
During the quarter ended June 30, 2024, Holderind held 50.90 per cent in the company at the end of the first quarter, with the total promoter stake at 70.33 per cent.
The Holderind stake is now down to around 48.14 per cent.
The data showed GQG purchasing 1.70 crore shares at ₹625.50 per share for nearly ₹1,068 crore, increasing its stake to 2.70 per cent from 1.35 per cent.
Other buyers were Axis Mutual Fund, Baroda BNP Paribas MF and ICICI Prudential MF.
Invesco MF, Mirae Asset MF, Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company, SBI Life Insurance, and National Pension System (NPS) Trust also bought Ambuja Cements shares.
Morgan Stanley and The Vanguard Group as well as Norway government’s pension fund bought shares.
While there have been speculations that the Adani family will use the proceeds to trim debt, sources close to the group denied such a move.
They said it is an “adjustment’’ done to keep the promoter interest at a desired level.
Gautam Adani had acquired the cement business of Holcim in 2022 which catapulted him as the country’s second largest player after UltraTech Cements.
Earlier this week, the Adani group said it has enough cash to cover more than 30 months of debt payments. The cash balance accounted for 24.8 per cent of gross debt of ₹2.41 lakh crore from 17.7 per cent a year earlier.
Shares of Ambuja Cements on Friday ended with marginal gains at ₹633.55 on the BSE.
