Cipla promoters to sell up to 2.53% for Rs 2,637 crore
Hamied family that founded Cipla are set to offload shares via block deals, said people aware of the matter, eight months after promoter-stake-sale talks with Torrent Pharma collapsed. A stake of up to 2.53% will be sold for an estimated Rs 2,637 crore by MK Hamied’s wife Shirin and their daughters Samina and Rumana along with Okasa Pharma, another promoter group entity, they said. The deals are likely to happen as early as Wednesday, they said.
The move, days after the company posted its best annual results, has triggered speculation that more such transactions could be in the offing. The collapse of the $7 billion sale last year after lengthy negotiations had reportedly led to divisions within the family, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
The three persons cited above hold 4.24% of Cipla while Osaka Pharma owns a 0.02% stake. They are offering to sell up to 20.45 million shares at Rs 1,289.50-1,357.35 apiece, translating to a total deal value of about Rs 2,637 crore ($316 million). That’s a discount of 0-5% to Cipla's closing price of Rs 1,357.35 on the NSE on Tuesday. There will be a post-sale, 90-day lock-in period, said the people cited.
The total promoter shareholding in the company was at 33.47% at the end of March.
There are three promoter family members on the Cipla board, all in non-executive capacities, led by chairman Yusuf Hamied, younger brother MK Hamied and the latter’s daughter Samina.
Samina had stepped down as executive vice chairperson in January, a move the company
