US-based investment firm GQG raises stake in ITC Ltd to 5.47% via bulk deal

US-based investment firm GQG Partners has picked up an additional 0.51 per cent stake in diversified conglomerate ITC Ltd through a bulk deal, raising the aggregate stake in the cigarette-to-soap maker to 5.47 per cent from 4.96 per cent.

In a regulatory filing with BSE, Rajiv Jain-led GQG Partners has informed that after picking up the additional 0.51 per cent stake in ITC, it and persons acting in concert (PAC) are currently holding 5.47 per cent stake in the conglomerate. “GQG Partners is the investment manager of the acquirer and PACs and has made the investment decision on behalf of the acquirer and PACs,” it said.

Notably, cigarette major British American Tobacco (BAT) on last Wednesday sold 2.5 per cent stake in ITC worth around ₹12,900 crore ($1.5 billion) via block deals. BAT sold 31.3 crore shares in the conglomerate.

BAT has been the largest shareholder of the Kolkata-headquartered conglomerate. It will remain the cigarette-to-soap major’s largest shareholder even after the sale. Following the latest transaction, BAT’s stake in ITC is expected to be reduced to 22.9 per cent from 25.4 per cent earlier.

BAT said the net proceeds from the block trade will also be utilised to extend the Group’s existing share buyback programme announced on March 18, 2024, by an additional £200 million, taking the total amount to be repurchased in 2025 to £1.1 billion.

In March last year, the UK-based cigarette major had sold a 3.5 per cent stake in ITC Ltd through block trades to institutional investors.