The 50:50 joint venture (JV) between Adani and Wilmar was set up in 1999. The company raised Rs 3,600 crore by way of an initial public offering in February 2022, bringing the stake of the two JV partners down to 43.97% each. Adani Group’s stake is held through Adani Commodities LLP, which is owned by the former’s flagship entity Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL).
Stake worth Rs 22,461.8 Crore
Adani Wilmar’s stock ended 0.39% lower at Rs 392.75 on NSE on Tuesday. Based on this, Adani Group’s stake in the company was worth Rs 22,461.8 crore at close of trade.
Adanis are looking at a substantial stake sale in Adani Wilmar, said one of the sources cited above, adding that the plan is still at an exploratory stage. Adani Group could retain a minority stake in the company, the person added.
Bloomberg was the first to report the story.
The proposed stake sale follows similar actions taken by the group in other companies in recent months, as it reshaped its strategy to focus on the core areas of infrastructure and cement and looked to shore up its liquidity in the wake of a scathing report by US-based short-seller Hindenburg in late January 2023.
The group had to scrap its Rs 20,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO) plan in Adani Enterprises, wiping off tens of billions in market capitalisation from its companies. It recently sold its non-bank financial company Adani Capital to Bain Capital and has put part of its real estate portfolio up for sale. On the other hand, it has doubled down on the cement business by recently acquiring Sanghi Cements.
Recent stake sales by Adani Group include a 2.8% share sale on Monday in Adani Green Energy Ltd for Rs 4,131 crore, which was largely picked up by Qatar Investment Authority.
Previously, the Adani family had in June raised $1.38 billion (Rs 11,330 crore) through stake sale in three portfolio companies – AEL, Adani Green Energy Ltd and Adani Transmission Ltd.
In March, GQG Partners had picked up promoter shares worth $1.87 billion in four group firms – Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone, Adani Green Energy, Adani Transmission and AEL.
Adani Group also dropped several acquisition plans as a fallout of the Hindenburg report such as the acquisition of a roads portfolio worth Rs 3,110 crore from Macquarie.
“No comment on market speculation,” said a spokesperson of Adani Group in an emailed response to ET’s query on Tuesday evening.
The product portfolio of Adani Wilmar includes brands such as Fortune, King’s, Bullet, Raag, Avsar, Pilaf, Jubilee, Fryola, Alpha, Alife and Aadhar, among others.
Adani Wilmar has the largest range of edible oils derived from soya, sunflower, mustard, rice bran, among others. Its Fortune brand of oil has around 20% market share in India. Edible oils is the biggest revenue contributor for Adani Wilmar, comprising 76% of the revenues in Q1FY24, with food and FMCG having an 8% share.
Consolidated revenue dropped by 12% to Rs 12,928 crore in the quarter ended June, even as volumes grew by 25%.
Adani Wilmar operates over 50 manufacturing units across the country and its distribution spans 1.6 million retail touch points.