Rekha Jhunjhunwala sells 5% in Rallis India via block deal; promoter Tata Chemicals buys additional stake

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Rekha Jhunjhunwala has sold partial stake in Rallis India through block deals on Tuesday, while promoter Tata Chemicals has picked up those shares. According to data available with the exchanges, Rekha Jhunjhunwala has offloaded 97 lakh shares or nearly 5% stake in the company. The transaction was done at a price of Rs 215 apiece, fetching the investor about Rs 208 crore.

Rekha Jhunjhunwala and family held a combined stake of 7.74% in the company, as of June quarter. Meanwhile, promoter Tata Chemicals has lapped up the shares in the deal. According to the latest shareholding data, promoters own 50.09% in Rallis India, while the rest is with public shareholders.

The promoter stake is almost entirely with Tata Chemicals at 50.06%, while Ewart Investments has a meagre 0.04%. Among the public shareholders, mutual funds have 12.15%, and foreign portfolio investors own about 8% in the company. Rallis India is a subsidiary of Tata Chemicals and a part of the Tata Group.

It is a leading agro sciences company, with more than 75 years of experience of servicing rural markets and with a comprehensive portfolio of products for Indian farmers. The company has marketing alliances with several multinational agrochemical companies and is known for developing new processes and formulations. Rallis India has recently announced its first quarter earnings, where it has recorded a revenue of Rs 782 crore, down from Rs 863 crore clocked in the previous year quarter.

Profit was also down marginally to Rs 63 crore in the June quarter, as against Rs 67 crore in the same period last year. “Crop care business has been affected by high market inventories, steep price drops and delayed onset of monsoon. Although our revenues were lower, margins were