Mr Rahul Dhir, CEO of Cairn India, has sold 15 lakh shares in the company this week, to raise funds to subscribe to stock options offered to him by the company.
Mr Dhir, who has been at the helm of the affairs of Cairn since 2006 when Cairn India got listed, is due to get some 22 lakh shares in third tranche of stock options this month. Subsequent to which, his shareholding in Cairn India would be 39 lakh.
He sold the shares in five transactions from January 30 to February 1, through the stock exchanges, Cairn India said.
A significant portion of the Rs 51.26 crore proceeds from the share sale would go toward paying taxes to the Government, as well as buying of the third tranche of stock options offered to him by the company, as part of his compensation package.
In fact, Mr Dhir had sold more than 15 lakh shares in August 2009 in a similar exercise to fund the buying of 2.2 lakh stocks offered by the company as part of a compensation package.
Last August, Mr Dhir's term as the CEO was extended for five years. After the recent change in management of Cairn India, he was retained as the CEO.