Adani Enterprises Ltd and Wilmar International Ltd are expected to start the sale of a minority stake in their consumer joint venture Adani Wilmar Ltd as early as next month to abide by shareholding regulations, Bloomberg reported citing sources.
The majority owners of Adani Wilmar are planning to sell a roughly 13 percent interest in the company — valued at about $736 million based on the closing price as of September 16 — to comply with Indian securities laws, the report added.
As per markets regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) requirements, Adani and Wilmar have until February next year to cut their combined holding to 75 percent.
Adani and Wilmar’s stakes together account for nearly 88 percent of the company’s shares but SEBI requires that large firms must have at least 25 percent of shares available to the public within three years of the date of the listing. Adani Wilmar manufactures Fortune brand cooking oils, wheat flour, pulses, rice and sugar and owns 23 plants across 10 states in India.
The stake could be sold in one or two tranches by February and advisers will soon start meeting investors in the US, Southeast Asia as well as India, with deliberations going on any final decision is yet to be made, Bloomberg reported.
The Ahmedabad-based Adani Wilmar is now rapidly expanding its operations in the FMCG space — which posted revenues of Rs 4,994 crore in FY24 — with new capacity, greater distribution strength, and venturing into new categories.