RIL plans to sell Rs 4,250 cr of treasury stock

Reliance Industries plans to offload a part of its treasury stock,  held through the Petroleum Trust, which is controlled by the promoters.

The Trust has offered to sell about 20 million shares in RIL at Rs 2,125 apiece, said executives familiar with the development. "The promoters are primarily looking to sell 10 million shares, with an option to sell an additional 10 million, that would fetch Rs 4,250 crore (Rs 42.5 billion)," they said.

When asked, an RIL spokesperson said, "We haven't sold any shares."

As on June 2009, the Trust held 104.7 million shares, or a 6.65 per cent stake, in RIL, according to Bombay Stock Exchange. At the current share price of RIL, at Rs 2,183.50 a share, the value of the entire stake held by the Trust would be Rs 22,861.25 crore (Rs 228.61 billion).

"The Trust is likely to sell the shares through block deals soon," a market source said.

Petroleum Trust is a special purpose vehicle created for RIL's holding in the earlier Reliance Petroleum when the company merged the latter with itself some seven years ago. The stake of the Trust rose again when IPCL merged with RIL.

The Trust is controlled by the company management and the stock it holds is beneficially held on behalf of RIL shareholders. A few little-known Reliance investment companies, such as Reliance Chemicals, Reliance Polyolefins and Reliance Universal Enterprise, also hold additional treasury stock to the tune of 5.73 per cent, taking the total treasury stock to 12.38 per cent. This helps Mukesh Ambani raise his total controlling stake above 50 per cent.

The treasury stock is the secret weapon Mukesh Ambani has for funding his audacious expansion plans for RIL, said an analyst. Without diluting any equity, he can raise more than Rs 42,543 crore (Rs 425.43 billion) at Wednesday's share price, by placing the company's treasury stock with financial investors.

Image: Mukesh Ambani