BAT Content with Current Holdings, No Plans for Further Stake Sale; ITC Stocks Steady

15 Mar 2024 , 11:33 AM

ITC shares were flat early on March 15 as its largest stakeholder, British American Tobacco, ruled out any more stock sales in the multinational business.

BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco stated that he is not aiming to dilute any more interest since BAT wants to maintain an impact on the ITC board and its future goals.

ITC is undergoing a transformation, with several investments including the divestiture of the hotel industry that we supported. We want a say in these decisions. We are quite pleased to maintain our stake at that level,” Marroco said at a UBS conference.

At around 11.00 AM, ITC was trading 1.12% higher at ₹424.35, against the previous close of ₹419.65 on NSE.

On March 13, BAT sold 43.7 Crore shares of the multinational conglomerate for ₹400 each in a block sale worth ₹17,491 Crore, reducing its stake in ITC to 25.5%.

As of December 2023, BAT held around 29% stake in ITC. BAT first invested in the stock during the 1900s. British American Tobacco (BAT), headquartered in London, manufactures and distributes cigarettes, tobacco, and other nicotine-containing goods.

In a note, BAT stated that it expects to utilise the net proceeds of the transaction to buy back BAT shares over a period ending December 2025, “starting with £700 million in 2024”.

We intend to keep directing operational cash flow towards funding company’s transformation efforts and reducing debt, read the memo.

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