PremjiInvest buys 6 per cent stake in Future Retail

In a significant development, PremjiInvest, the investment firm of Azim Premji, bought 6 per cent stake in Future Retail from Bharti Group for a total sum of Rs. 600 crore.

Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro leads PremjiInvest, which is a private equity fund that has investments in around 40 listed and unlisted companies.

Even after the agreement, Bharti Group will hold 3 per cent stake in Future Retail via a group company Cedar Support Services. According to reports, Future Retail will be receiving Rs. 575 crore through clawback provision, which is likely to be utilized for debt reduction in the company.

Future Group had merged its retail business with competitor Bharti Retail in an all stock agreement three years ago. Following which Cedar Services acquired 9.23 per cent shares in both Future Retail and Future Enterprises.

Recently, PremjiInvest also invested in one of the group entities of Future Group, Future Lifestyle Fashions.

In Thursday’s trade, Future Retail posted an intraday high of Rs. 577.40 per share and its intraday low of Rs. 552.25 per share on BSE. The stock touched its 52-week high of Rs. 639.54 per share on November 27, 2017 and its 52-week low of Rs. 341.52 per share on June 27, 2017 on BSE, respectively.

The stock closed at Rs. 572.05 per share, up by 0.73 per cent on BSE on Thursday. Meanwhile, Indian benchmark index S&P BSE Sensex closed at 35,463.08 level, up by 0.81 per cent and NSE Nifty50 ended at 10,768.35 level, up by 0.78 per cent.