Whirlpool Sells 24% Stake In India Unit For Rs 3,880 Crore, SBI MF Buys 7.2% Equity
SBI Mutual Fund bought 91.5 lakh shares, representing 7.2% equity, for Rs 1,168.5 crore.
Whirlpool Corp. offloaded 24% stake in its India unit via open market transactions for $468 million, or Rs 3,880 crore, on Tuesday.
Whirlpool Mauritius Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American home appliance-maker, executed the sale of three crore shares of Whirlpool of India Ltd. via block deals.
The shares were offloaded at Rs 1,277.02 apiece, higher than the floor price of Rs 1,230 apiece that was indicated in the term sheet.
The transaction reduced the promoter's ownership in the company from 75% to 51%. Whirlpool expects settlement of the share sale to occur on Feb. 21 and to use transaction proceeds to reduce debt, according to an exchange filing.
SBI Mutual Fund bought 91.5 lakh shares, representing 7.2% equity, for Rs 1,168.5 crore. The fund house, through its SBI Magnum Global Fund, held 1.27% stake in the company as of December.
Other buyers include Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund, which bought 8.88 lakh shares (0.7%), Societe Generale ODI which mopped up 8.65 lakh shares (0.68%), Nippon India Mutual Fund purchased 7.97 lakh shares (0.62%), DSP Mutual Fund bought 7.14 lakh shares (0.56%) and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund purchased 6.49 lakh shares (0.51%).
In response to queries, the home appliance maker said the parent firm's divestment is part of the plans announced in November last year.
Whirlpool had earmarked $500 million for loan repayment in the December quarter. The total debt stands at $6.41 billion.
Shares of Whirlpool of India closed 3.24% lower at Rs 1,287.70 apiece on the BSE, as compared with a 0.48% advance in the benchmark Sensex.
