SBICap Trustee Company, a State Bank of India (SBI) group entity, has
offloaded more than 85 lakh shares of cash-starved Kingfisher Airlines in a transaction worth nearly Rs 7 crore.
Recently, lenders of Vijay Mallya-led group's
Kingfisher Airlines have begun selling other group firm shares pledged with them to recover their loans amid huge accumulated losses and soaring debt levels of the airline that is grounded since October 2012.
The shares were pledged as security for loans taken by Kingfisher Airlines.
According to the data available with the stock exchanges, SBICap Trustee Company last week sold 85.17 lakh shares of the ailing carrier for Rs 6.70 crore in open market transactions. The shares were sold by SBICap at an average price of Rs 7.87.
At the end of December quarter, State Bank of India held 2.82 crore shares, or 3.49 per cent, stake in Kingfisher Airlines.
A significant portion of the promoter shares in all UB group companies, including Kingfisher Airlines, are pledged with various lenders.
Mangalore Chemicals and Fertilizers (MCFL), another UB Group firm, too said about 8.44 per cent of the stake belonging to its promoter firm United Breweries Holdings has been sold by a lender.
MCFL had said the
shareholding of the promoter firm United Breweries Holdings has come down to 16.07 per cent from earlier 24.51 per cent in the company "on account of invocation of pledge created in favour of lender".
Promoters - United Breweries Holdings, United Spirit and McDowell Holdings - together held a stake of 30.44 per cent in MCFL by the end of December 2012, nearly 70 per cent of their shares were pledged with various lenders.
MCFL, however, did not reveal the name of the lender which sold the United Breweries Holdings's 8.44 per cent stake comprising one crore shares in the company on April 1.
Last week, SBICap Trustee Company had sold one crore shares of MCFL, accounting for over 8 per cent stake, for Rs 38.5 crore in open market transactions.
Shares of Kingfisher Airlines on Wednesday were trading 4.93 per cent down in late morning trade at Rs 6.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
With inputs from PTI
PHOTO: Associated Press 
Special 
