Edinburgh-based Cairn Energy has further diluted its stake in Cairn India Ltd. The company today sold 3.5 per cent of its stake in 13 tranches. With this sale, Cairn Energy holds 18.3 per cent in Cairn India.
The Cairn India stock was trading down 6 per cent at Rs 307.95 on the BSE at 2.30 p.m.
Cairn Energy expects to raise approximately $360 million through this open market deal. The money raised is to fund Cairn’s future growth opportunities.
Mr Simon Thomson, CEO of Cairn Energy Plc, had recently said, "The residual 22 per cent shareholding Cairn now holds in Cairn India is viewed by the company as an important investment asset from which further value can be realised at the appropriate time.”
Last year, Cairn Energy had sold majority stake in Cairn India to Vedanta Resources.
In a statement issued today, Cairn Energy said that at the company’s general meeting on May 17, it had taken its shareholders nod to dispose of all or part of its stake in Cairn India.
The company statement said that “it has reached an agreement with Citi to complete an on-market sale of a total of 66,758,864 shares in Cairn India, representing approximately a 3.5 per cent shareholding in Cairn India.”