 "DLF's board to meet today to consider share sale")
According to Sebi, all listed companies should bring down their promoter shareholding to 75 per cent by June, as the minimum public shareholding should be maintained at 25 per cent.
The exercise is expected to fetch the company anything between Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 2,500 crore, depending on the stock price at the time of the transaction. This will enable DLF to reduce its debt further.
DLF might issue around five per cent fresh equity shares of the paid-up capital through the institutional placement programme route by the end of May. Currently, the promoters’ shareholding stands at 78.58 per cent in DLF.
DLF in a filing to BSE said today: "A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on March 6, to consider offer of securities and all related actions thereto ... for achieving the minimum public shareholding. The board would consider calling of an extra ordinary general meeting on April 4, to seek shareholders approval for the above purpose”.
DLF shares today closed at Rs 259.65, up 3.6 per cent, while the benchmark Sensex gained 1.4 per cent to 19,143.17 points.
The company has recently sold its non-core assets in a bid to raise capital to reduce debt.
It sold a land parcel in Mumbai in August 2012 to the Lodhas for about Rs 2,700 crore. The sale of Aman Resorts for Rs 1,650 crore was announced in December last year and it also offloaded part of its energy business to Bharat Light and Power for Rs 282 crore.
The company reduced its net debt by Rs 1,870 crore in the October -December quarter, bringing it down to Rs 21,350 crore in the quarter from Rs 23,220 crore in the previous quarter.
By the end of first quarter 2013-14, the company plans to reduce its debt to around Rs 17,000 crore.