Suzlon promoters sell further 4 per cent holding

Wind power major Suzlon Energy Ltd said on Monday that its founders have sold around a 4 per cent stake in the company, lowering their holding in the Indian wind-turbine maker to around 60 per cent. The statement didn't give the price at which the shares were sold.

The funds raised will be used to part-finance the buyout of the stake held in REpower Systems AG from Martifer SGPS, Suzlon chairman Tulsi Tanti said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange. These companies have complicated cross-holdings in each other.

This is the second time this month that the company's founders have sold a part of their stake. They sold around 30 million shares, or nearly 2 per centof the company, on 13 May. (See: Suzlon bosses sell 2 per cent stake for $47 million). Suzlon said the founders don't expect to sell more shares in the near future.

Suzlon said three of its promoters have offloaded six crore shares for about estimated Rs564.60 crore through open market transactions. Promoter Rambhaben Ukabhai has sold 2.75 crore shares representing a 1.84 per cent stake in the firm; Girish R Tanti sold 2.35 crore shares or a 1.57 per cent stake; and Nidhi Tanti sold 90 lakh shares representing a 0.60 per cent stake via two separate open market transactions.

Ukabhai now holds about 0.05 per cent stake in Suzlon Energy, while Girish R Tanti and Nidhi Tanti hold 2.64 per cent and one per cent respectively.

Tanti further said, ''The funds raised through the sale of this stake are going to be used primarily to advance inter-corporate deposits through promoter group entities to the company to part finance the buyout of the stake held in REpower Systems AG by Martifer SGPS. This stake sale will ensure that the overall timeline in implementation of REpower integration is not delayed."

He added that investors such as DKR Oasis and Prudential Asia had participated in the stake sale.