India Cements Stake Sale: Radhakishan Damani, Linked Entities Exit

Ace investor Radhakishan Damani and his associated entities divested their entire stake in India Cements Ltd. via open market operations on Thursday. The shares were acquired by larger rival UltraTech Cement Ltd.

Damani and linked entities offloaded over 7 crore shares, representing 22.77% equity, through bulk deals on stock exchanges. The divestment was first reported by NDTV Profit earlier today.

As per the shareholding pattern of India Cements for the quarter-ended March, Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani and Gopikishan Shivkishan Damani have collectively held 20.78% stake in the company. The rest was owned by Damani-linked entities.

UltraTech said it will acquire 23% stake in India Cements in a non-controlling financial investment, which implies the cement-maker will not have a representative on the India Cements board.

The Aditya Birla Group company acquired over 6 crore shares, aggregating to 19.44% and will initiate purchase for up to 3.4% equity shares at Rs 285 per share, the company said.

The leading cement-maker will buy shares in India Cements at Rs 267 apiece in block deals, resulting in an enterprise of Rs 10,800 crore. The enterprise at this price is Rs 7,500 or $90 per tonne.

Shares of UltraTech Cement and India Cements closed 5.07% and 11.49% higher, respectively, as compared with a 0.72% advance in the benchmark BSE Sensex.