Lemon Tree Hotels under pressure, tumbles 12% after block deal

Around 31 million shares representing 7 per cent of the total equity of Lemon Tree Hotels changed hands on the BSE via block deal

Shares of Lemon Tree Hotels tumbled as much as 12 per cent in the intra-day trade to quote at Rs 50 apiece on the BSE on Thursday after more than 30 million equity shares of the company changed hands via block deals.

Around 31 million shares, representing 7 per cent of the total equity of Lemon Tree Hotels, changed hands on the BSE, the exchange data shows. The name of buyers and sellers, however, could not be ascertained immediately.

At 11:28 am, the stock was trading 7 per cent lower at Rs 53, as compared to a 0.72 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex. A combined 56 million shares, representing nearly  7 per cent of total equity of Lemon Tree Hotels, have changed hands on the NSE and BSE, data shows.

The stock, which had hit an all-time low of Rs 48 on August 13 in the intra-day trade, has fallen below its issue price of Rs 56 per share.

In the 10 trading sessions between August 13 and August 28, the stock has outperformed the market by gaining 14 per cent after promoters acquired the company’s shares via open market. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex gained one per cent during the period.

As per the company’s disclosure to the stock exchange, the promoter group had purchased 2.6 million equity shares, worth about Rs 14 crore, from open market.

As of June 2019, promoters held 30.89 per cent stake in Lemon Tree Hotels, of which 34 per cent of their holdings was pledged in the company, shareholding data show.

Lemon Tree hotels are located across India, in metro regions, including the NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, as well as tier I and tier II cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Indore and Aurangabad.