SUUTI sells 2% stake in ITC; shares hit 52-week high

SUUTI sells 2% stake in ITC; shares hit 52-week high

ITC rallied as much as 5.6% to hit its 52-week high on BSE after the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) sold 2% stake in the company via block deals.

The 2% stake sale in ITC will fetch the government approximately Rs 6,700 crore, making the divestment target of Rs 45,500 crore more achievable. For FY17, the total divestment made via minority stake sale and strategic stake sale stands close to Rs 37,700 crore.

At 10:17am, ITC pared some gains but was still trading at 1% higher at Rs 280. It touched the high and low of Rs 291.95 and Rs 277 in the day on BSE.

The government now holds 9.1% stake in ITC through SUUTI, which was formed in 2003 and holds stake in 51 companies – 8 unlisterd and the rest listed. The companies include RIL, BPCL, HUL, ICICI Bank etc.

Earlier, the government had sold 1.6% of SUUTI Holdings in L&T (L&T) for Rs 2,096.35 crore, data available with the department of investment and public asset management suggests.