Reliance Communications erodes 95% of shareholder wealth since listing

Shares of Reliance ADAG companies came under heavy selling pressure on Wednesday, after the Supreme Court of India held the chairman and two directors guilty of contempt of court on three contempt applications filed by Telecom equipment maker Ericsson against him over not clearing dues of Rs 550 crore.

The apex court has asked RCom to pay Rs 453 crore to Ericsson within four weeks, failing which, Anil Ambani, Reliance Telecom chairman Satish Seth and Reliance Infratel chairperson Chhaya Virani would face a three-month jail term. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

At 11:58 am, Reliance Communications, once a flagship company of the group, was trading near its face value of Rs 5 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) at Rs 5.60 apiece, down 6.67 per cent against its previous close. The stock had recently hit a 52-week low of Rs 4.85. It, however, managed to claw back and end flat at Rs 6 levels on Wednesday on the NSE.

Since its listing on the bourses on March 6, 2006, the market valuation of the company has plunged around 95 per cent. According to data fetched from ACE Equity, the market capitalisation of the company stood at around Rs 35,575 crore as on March 6, 2006. Thirteen years on, the figure now stands at mere Rs Rs 1,557 crore (as of Wednesday's price). The company's share price as on March 6, 2006 stood at Rs 291 on the BSE.

The apex court on October 23 asked RCom to clear the dues by December 15, 2018, saying delayed payment would attract an interest of 12 per cent per annum. The plea by Ericsson had sought that the court direct Ambani and the lenders forum to hand over the Rs 550 crore with interest from sale proceeds as per the October 23 order.

Earlier in February, the company filed for bankruptcy, following which major lenders to the company sold its shares pledged with them. However, post this, the company reached an agreement with lenders to not sell any shares pledged by promoters till September.