Adani Group weighs stake sale in FMCG joint venture with Wilmar

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Adani Group is in early stages of exploring a stake sale in its fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) joint venture Adani Wilmar Ltd, said sources aware of the development. The move is in line with the conglomerate's recent efforts to focus on core business areas and derisk its balance sheets by way of stake sales and accelerated loan repayments. The 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Adani and Wilmar was set up in 1999.

The company raised Rs 3,600 crore by way of an initial public offering in February 2022, bringing the stake of the two JV partners down to 43.97% each. Adani Group's stake is held through Adani Commodities LLP, which is owned by the former's flagship entity Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).Stake worth Rs 22,461.8 Crore Adani Wilmar's stock ended 0.39% lower at Rs 392.75 on NSE on Tuesday. Based on this, Adani Group's stake in the company was worth Rs 22,461.8 crore at close of trade.

Adanis are looking at a substantial stake sale in Adani Wilmar, said one of the sources cited above, adding that the plan is still at an exploratory stage. Adani Group could retain a minority stake in the company, the person added. Bloomberg was the first to report the story.

The proposed stake sale follows similar actions taken by the group in other companies in recent months, as it reshaped its strategy to focus on the core areas of infrastructure and cement and looked to shore up its liquidity in the wake of a scathing report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg in late January 2023. The group had to scrap its Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) plan in Adani Enterprises, wiping off tens of billions in market capitalisation from its companies. It recently sold its non-bank financial company Adani Capital to Bain Capital and