Patanjali Foods' top shareholder to sell up to 9% stake

Patanjali Foods' largest shareholder Patanjali Ayurved said on Wednesday it plans to sell up to 9 per cent of its stake in the edible oil maker to align with rules on minimum public shareholding.

Patanjali Ayurved currently owns close to 40 per cent stake in the company and along with other influential shareholders, known as promoters, hold a combined 80.8 per cent stake, while the public holds under 20 per cent.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India, mandates that public shareholders hold at least 25 per cent in listed companies.

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In March, the BSE and the National Stock Exchange froze shares of the shareholders as they still held over 80 per cent in Patanjali. The deadline for minimum public float norms was end-January, as the three-year period after the company's relisting ended.

Patanjali Ayurved is looking to sell up to 7 per cent of its stake in the company between July 13-14 with an option to further sell 2 per cent of its stake, it said in an exchange filing on Wednesday. The floor price for the sale was set at 1,000 rupees per share.

Patanjali Ayurved acquired Ruchi Soya Industries in 2019 and renamed it Patanjali Foods in 2022. The company has earlier faced regulatory scrutiny after yoga guru Baba Ramdev attempted to get his followers to invest in Ruchi Soya's share sale during its January 2020 relisting.