ITC Block Deal: British American Tobacco Sells Rs 12,100-Crore Stake
ITC shares fell as much as 4.82% to Rs 413 apiece, the lowest since April 9.
British American Tobacco, the top investor in ITC Ltd., has pare its stake in the Indian cigarette-maker through block deals, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
BAT offloaded 2.5% stake representing 31.3 crore shares for Rs 12,100 crore on Wednesday, according to the company statement.
NDTV Profit had reported that BAT would be offloading shares in the company on Wednesday at an 8% discount to the current market price.
BAT held a total of 20.31% stake in ITC as of March 31, 2025, according to the shareholding pattern available with the BSE. The shares are owned by its local subsidiary - Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Ltd.
After the stake sale BAT's holding in ITC slips to 17.81%. In the statement BAT said that it would use the proceeds from the block deal to extends the Group's existing share buyback programme by an additional approximately Rs 2,310.6 crore taking the total amount to Rs 12,714 crore.
"The extension will begin following completion of the latest tranche of the Programme announced on 29 April 2025 and is expected to complete no later than 31 December 2025," it added.
The London-listed nicotine products seller had also sold 43.6 crore shares, or about 3.5% shares of ITC, in March 2024. The stake was then offloaded for Rs 17,491 crore, which made it India's third-largest block deal ever.
ITC, which demerged its hospitality arm ITC Hotels Ltd. in January, posted a marginal growth in its net profit sans exceptional gains in the quarter ended March 2025. It increased by 0.8% year-on-year to Rs 4,874 crore. The revenue from operations increased by 9.6% to Rs 17.248 crore, as per the results declared last week.
ITC Share Price Declines
The scrip fell as much as 4.82% to Rs 413 apiece, the lowest since April 9. It pared losses to trade 3% lower at Rs 420.90 apiece, as of 12:43 p.m. This compares to a 0.13% decline in the NSE Nifty 50 Index.
It has fallen 12.99% on a year-to-date basis, but only 1.91% in the last 12 months. The relative strength index was at 59.05.
Out of 40 analysts tracking the company, 38 maintain a 'buy' rating, one recommends a 'hold,' and one suggests 'sell,' according to Bloomberg data. The average 12-month consensus price target implies an upside of 14.9%.
