Indian government plans to sell 1.5% stake in ONGC via offer for sale (OFS). The OFS is slated for 30th and 31st March and will boost FY22 disinvestment receipts by Rs.3,000 crore to Rs.15,500 crore. While 50% of the OFS size will be open to non-retail investors on 30-March, the balance will be open for retail investors on 31-March. The floor price of the OFS has been set at Rs.159, which represents a 7% discount to the CMP. Post the OFS, the government holdings in ONGC will come down from 60.41% to 58.91%.
Brent crude fell close to $111/bbl, losing nearly $10 in 2 days after Russia and Ukraine appeared to get closer to a negotiated deal. Both the warring nations are meeting in Istanbul and are expected to have made substantial progress. WTI crude fell as low as $106/bbl. On Monday, the price of crude had fallen on concerns that the lockdown in Shanghai would weaken oil demand. While these talks are unlikely to bring an end to the war, the signals are positive that both the countries are seriously talking to each other.
Tata Sons earned Rs.11,164 crore from the TCS buyback by tendering 24.81 million shares. Tata Sons alone accounted for 62% of the total buyback amount. The other significant portion of Rs.528 crore from the TCS buyback was pocketed by LIC. The small shareholders (holdings up to Rs.2 lakhs) tendered a total of 25.3 million shares; or 4.22 times the shares reserved for them. A total of 4 crore shares were bought back by TCS at Rs.4,500 per share. Post buyback, Tata Sons holdings in TCS increased from 72.19% to 72.30%.
In one of the most significant real estate deals, the headquarters of the beleaguered IL&FS group located at Bandra Kurla Complex was sold to Brookfield for Rs.1,080 crore. It was one of the first buildings to come up at BKC and has a leasable area of 4.5 lakh SFT. IL&FS Group had occupied the top-3 floors. The IL&FS building sits on land admeasuring 12,550 square metres. The median rentals in the area range from Rs.265 per SFT to Rs.325 per SFT. Brookfield also has a REITS portfolio, and this may be a valuable addition to it.
Ruchi Soya rescheduled its board meeting to 31st March due to the FPO bid withdrawal facility ordered by SEBI. SEBI had instructed Ruchi Soya to provide an option to investors to withdraw bids on account of unsolicited SMS messages sent to investors inviting them to bid, contrary to SEBI rules. Overall FPO was subscribed 3.6 times but retail portion only got 90% subscription. The final retail numbers could change based on withdrawals. Apart from Rs.1,290 crore from anchor investors, all other bids can be withdrawn.
Hemani Industries, a leading chemical company, has filed the draft red herring prospectus (DRHP) with SEBI for its Rs.2,000 crore IPO. This includes a fresh issue of Rs.500 crore and an OFS of Rs.1,500 crore. In the OFS portion, 3 promoters will offload Rs.500 crore worth of shares each. The fresh issue proceeds will be utilized to fund capex for capacity expansion at Saykha industrial estate and repayment of borrowings. Hemani manufactures a range of agrochemicals and specialty chemicals, including CRAMS services.
Tata Consumer Products announced a reorganisation plan to unlock synergies. The plantation business of Tata Coffee will be demerged into TCPL. The boards of TCPL and Tata Coffee in their respective meetings have approved this scheme of reorganization. As part of the swap, shareholders of Tata Coffee will receive 1 share of TCPL for every 3 shares held. This transaction is subject to approval by TCPL shareholders and other regulatory approvals. Earlier, the cooking salt business of Tata Chemicals was merged into TCPL.
The Income Tax Department unearthed over Rs.1,000 crore of bogus expenses and Rs.100 crore of cash transactions pertaining to Hero Moto. The department conducted search and seizure operations at the premises of Hero Moto and the residence of Pawan Munjal. The stock reacted sharply, falling 7%. Pawan Munjal had purchased a farmhouse in Chattarpur where the market price had been allegedly manipulated and cash payments had been made, which is in contravention of Section 269SS of the Income Tax Act.