LIC sells 2% shares in Sun Pharma via open market sale, stake now at 3.012%

Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) on Thursday announced that it has sold a 2.011 per cent stake in Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd. With this, its stake in the pharma major has come down from 5.023 per cent to 3.012 per cent.

In a statement, the life insurance company said, “Pursuant to Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, this is to inform that corporation’s shareholding in “Sun Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd” has diluted from 12,05,24,944 to 7,22,68,890 Equity Shares, decreasing its shareholding from 5.023 per cent to 3.012 per cent of the paid-up capital of the said company.”

The transaction was done via open market sale. The stake was sold between July 22 and September 13. 

Last month, LIC picked up a 6.66 per cent stake in newly listed Jio Financial Services Ltd. The cost of the acquisition was 4.68 per cent of the pre-demerged cost of Reliance Industries Ltd, according to the notice of the company dated July 19, 2023.

In July, LIC had offloaded a little over two per cent stake in India Cement through open market transactions between November 2007 and July 2023. “…Corporation’s shareholding in ‘India Cement Ltd’ has diluted from 18,205,665 to 11,877,759 equity shares, decreasing its shareholding from 5.875 per cent to 3.833 per cent of the paid-up capital of the said company,” LIC said in a regulatory filing.

In June, LIC had increased its stake in the Steel Authority of India (SAIL) by 2.001 per cent to 8.687 per cent. In the same month, the insurer raised its stake in IT firm Tech Mahindra Ltd by about 2 per cent through open market acquisition.

LIC bought 19 million shares or 2.01 per cent of equity capital at an average price of Rs 1,050.77 per unit.

On Thursday, LIC’s shares closed 0.27 per cent in the green at Rs 660.80 per share.