RIL to pare stake in Hathway Cable; to launch Rs 442-crore OFS on April 26

Reliance Industries (RIL)-promoted Hathway Cable & Datacom will launch an offer for sale (OFS) on Monday -- the second time in a month it will be doing so. The last OFS for Rs 853 crore was partially subscribed.

This month, the company will launch a Rs 442-crore share sale, offloading 205.44 million shares, or an 11.61 per cent stake, at a floor price of Rs 21.50. Promoter group firms that will sell shares include Jio Content Distribution Holdings, Jio Internet Distribution Holdings, and Jio Cable and Broadband Holdings.

The share sale by these firms is aimed at achieving minimum public holding in Hathway in accordance with the norms set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). 

Sebi rules prescribe that promoters cannot hold more than 75 per cent in a company.

On Wednesday, RIL decided against going ahead with the merger of Hathway, Den Networks and TV18 Broadcast into Network18, a year after announcing the transaction.

A delay in implementation was among the reasons for the cancellation of the merger.

RIL has been slowly bringing down its stake in Hathway, trimming its shareholding from 94.09 per cent in the quarter ended December 31, 2020 to 86.61 per cent in the three months ended March 31, 2021. Hathway was acquired in October 2018 by Reliance.