RIL looking to unload more stock

RIL may be seeking to sell around 2-3 crore of treasury shares, according to sources. Over the last six months, RIL has sold nearly half of the 21 crore treasury shares created when it purchased its own subsidiary Reliance Petroleum eight years ago, raising over Rs 9,000 crore. The company, which has had between $3 billion and $5 billion of cash on its balance sheet over the last one year, is yet to clarify on the reason for its frenetic fund-raising. It is estimated to have around 12 crore more shares, equivalent to around 3.8% stake.
 
The current offer to sell, however, has run into rough weather as the company’s stock price has taken a beating over the last one month. It declined steadily after the company sold around 6 crore treasury shares in January this year at around Rs 1,050 per share, hitting Rs 965 per share last week. Of the 6 crore shares it sold in early January, 3.3 crore were sold to foreign funds and a large chunk to the Life Insurance Corporation.
 
Speculation is on that the company may be gearing up to face any negative fallout of its long-running dispute with the Anil Ambani group. RIL is engaged in a Rs 50,000-crore battle with the Anil Ambani group over gas rights claimed by the latter. RIL started producing gas from its KG D6 block in April last year and the project is estimated to be contributing as much as half of RIL’s net profit as its refinery and petrochem businesses have been battered by the global economic downturn.