India's Patanjali Foods top shareholder to sell up to 9% stake (updated)

Patanjali Foods

12/07/2023 14:48

(Adds details on shareholders stake, background in paragraphs
2-6)
       BENGALURU, July 12 (Reuters) - Patanjali Foods'
 PAFO.NS  largest shareholder Patanjali Ayurved said on
Wednesday it plans to sell up to 9% of its stake in the edible
oil maker to align with rules on minimum public shareholding.
        Patanjali Ayurved currently owns close to 40% stake in
the company and along with other influential shareholders, known
as promoters, hold a combined 80.8% stake, while the public
holds under 20%.
    India's markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board
of India, mandates that public shareholders hold at least 25% in
listed companies.
    In March, the BSE and the National Stock Exchange froze
shares of the shareholders as they still held over 80% in
Patanjali. The deadline for minimum public float norms was
end-January, as the three-year period after the company's
relisting ended.
    Patanjali Ayurved is looking to sell up to 7% of its stake
in the company between July 13-14 with an option to further sell
2% of its stake, it said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. The
floor price for the sale was set at 1,000 rupees per share.
        Patanjali Ayurved acquired Ruchi Soya Industries in 2019
and renamed it Patanjali Foods in 2022. The company has earlier
faced regulatory scrutiny after yoga guru Baba Ramdev attempted
to get his followers to invest in Ruchi Soya's share sale during
its January 2020 relisting.
  

 (Reporting by Kashish Tandon; Editing by Savio D'Souza And
Eileen Soreng)
 ((Kashish.Tandon@thomsonreuters.com;))