VST Industries zooms 28% in 2 days as Radhakishan Damani, SBI MF hike stake

On Tuesday, January 2, investor Radhakishan Damani has bought 222,935 shares and SBI Mutual Fund acquired 225,000 shares of VST Industries via bulk deals.

Shares of VST Industries hit a nearly four-year high at Rs 4,328, as they rallied 6.5 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday’s intra-day trade, zooming 28 per cent in past two days in an otherwise weak market after investor Radhakishan Damani and SBI Mutual Fund increased stake in the company via open market.

The stock was trading at its highest level since February 2020. It had hit a record high of Rs 4,848 on January 22, 2020. At 10:15 AM; VST Industries was quoting 1.5 per cent higher at Rs 4,123, as compared to 0.5 per cent decline in the S&P BSE Sensex.

On Tuesday, January 2, investor Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani bought 222,935 equity shares representing 1.4 per cent of total equity of VST Industries through open market. According to BSE bulk deal data, Damani purchased shares of VST Industries at an average price of Rs 3,390 per share.

The Avenue Supermarts' promoter through his investment vehicles Derive Trading and Bright Star already holds 30.7 per cent stake in VST Industries.

SBI Mutual Fund (MF) also acquired 225,000 shares of VST Industries, at an average price of Rs 3,390 per share, data shows.

Meanwhile, two mutual funds, HDFC Mutual Fund (200,000 shares) and DSP Mutual Fund (250,000 shares) collectively sold 450,000 shares or 2.9 per cent stake in VST Industries, data shows.

Last month on December 20, 2023, VST Industries said that SBI Mutual Fund, under its various schemes had purchased 116,730 shares representing 0.76 per cent of the company. Post acquisition, SBI Mutual Fund’s stake in VST Industries increased to 5.7 per cent from 4.94 per cent, the company said. SBI Mutual Fund held 4.41 per cent stake in VST Industries at the end of September 2023 quarter, as per the shareholding pattern data.

VST Industries is engaged inter alia in manufacture and trading of Cigarettes, Tobacco and Tobacco products. The company is an associate of British American Tobacco Plc, which holds 32.2 per cent stake in VST Industries.

HDFC Mutual Fund (6.81 per cent) and DSP Small Cap Fund (2.4 per cent) are among other mutual funds that held more than 2 per cent stake in the VST Industries at the end of September quarter, data shows.

VST is an established player in the cigarette industry with over eight decades of operations. The company is the third-largest player in the domestic market with significant presence in West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.