RIL sells 10.5 mn equity shares

Reliance Industries (RIL) held Petroleum Trust has sold 10.5 million equity shares of the company today. Reliance Industrial Investments and Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL, is the sole beneficiary of the Trust.

The Trust will realize approximately Rs 3,188 crore, at an average price of about Rs 2,125 per share. The shares are carried in the books at a cost of Rs 158 per share by the Trust. The financial impact will be reflected in the consolidated statements of the company, RIL said in a statement to the exchange.

The sale of the said shares will be settled on the stock exchanges, the statement added.

Petroleum Trust is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) 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.

RIL’s scrip was trading at Rs 2,130, down 2.45 per cent on the  Bombay Stock Exchange(BSE) on Thursday morning.