RIL raises another Rs 3,465 cr via treasury sale

Reliance Industries today said it has raised about Rs 3,465 crore through sale of 3.3 crore treasury stocks of the company.

The announcement of treasury stock sale came just days after reports that RIL has raised offer for bankrupt chemical maker LyondellBasell Industries to $13.5 billion.

Petroleum Trust has sold 3.30 crore equity shares of the company today. The Trust will realise approximately Rs 3,465 crore, at a price of Rs 1,050 per share, RIL said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

On Friday last week, RIL wrote to the Netherlands-based Lyondell raising its valuation of the world's third-largest chemicals maker to about $13.5 billion from $12 billion initially put forward in November.

Lyondell has filed a plan to reorganise with the US Bankruptcy Court last year as it evaluates offer from RIL, pitting the Mukesh Ambani-run firm against lenders in a battle for the bankrupt chemical maker.

This is the third time in four months that RIL has sold part of its treasury stock, which is held by its Petroleum Trust, thereby raising over Rs 9,300 crore.

Analysts feel that RIL may be strengthening its warchest for funding the LyondellBasell buyout and hence it is cashing out its treasury stocks in the open market.

Today's sell price of Rs 1,050 was 4 per cent below the prevailing market price of RIL shares. Following the announcement, shares of RIL fell 0.74 per cent to Rs 1,093.75.

RIL has created treasury stocks post its merger with

Reliance Petroleum in 2002. Post today's sell off, the Trust still holds about 12 crore treasury shares worth over Rs 13,000 crore at current market price.

Treasury stock refers to shares of a company which are not issued to the public, as some are kept in the companies treasury to be used to create extra cash when needed.

UBS Securities India was arranger for the seller.

"Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, is the beneficiary of the trust. The sale of the said shares was executed in the stock exchanges today," the filing said.

Under the revised offer, RIL offered to buy about $2.2 billion in new stock and support a separate $2.8 billion rights offering by Lyondell to take the company out of bankruptcy. Most of the remaining payment would be in cash.

A deal between RIL and Lyondell would create a global energy and chemicals giant, with annual revenues estimated at near $80 billion.

Lyondell had a year ago filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under the US law after being unable to meet its debt obligations when demand waned due to the global economic downturn.

The Roterdam-headquartered group, the world's third- largest independent chemical company, would give RIL petrochemical plants, two oil refineries and access to the US fuel market.