BAT to sell 3.5% in ITC on Wednesday, may raise up to ₹17,480 crore

Mumbai: British American Tobacco Plc (BAT) said it will sell 3.5% stake in ITC Ltd on Wednesday, in block deals that could total as much as 17,484 crore ($2.11 billion)..

BAT, which holds over 29% in the cigarettes-to-hotels conglomerate, will sell the shares at 384400.25 each, implying a 45% discount to ITCs Tuesday closing price of 401.90 on the NSE..

ITC shares fell 1.83% earlier in the day, while the benchmark Nifty index closed unchanged..

BAT said its wholly owned subsidiary Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd intends to sell up to 436,851,457 shares in ITC to institutional investors in an accelerated bookbuilding process..

So far, BAT had resisted paring stake in ITC as Indian laws do not permit a foreign strategic company to make a fresh investment in a tobacco company..