US-based investment management firm GQG Partners has increased stake in cigarette-to-soap maker ITC, adding more than 15 crore shares as foreign portfolio investors.
The name of Goldman Sachs GQG Partners International Opportunities Fund, which bought over 13.1 crore shares representing 1.05 per cent stake in ITC during the third quarter this fiscal, has emerged for the first time in the shareholding of the diversified conglomerate.
According to the latest shareholding pattern, GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund increased its stake in the conglomerate to 1.74 per cent as on December 31, 2023 from 1.58 per cent as on September 30, 2023. As a result, combined shareholding of the two funds rose to 2.79 per cent at the end of the December quarter from 1.58 per cent at the end of the September quarter of FY24.
Based on ITC’s current market price, GQG Partners’ overall stake stood at worth over ₹16,400 crore. GQG Partners also has stakes in Adani group companies.
On Tuesday, the company’s scrip ended the day at ₹472.10 apiece on BSE — up 1.01 per cent from the previous close.
GQG Partners’ investment in ITC falls under Foreign Portfolio Investors Category I. The shareholding under Foreign Portfolio Investors Category I in the conglomerate stood at 12.87 per cent at the end of the third quarter compared with 12.88 per cent at the end of the second quarter this fiscal.
BAT nominee quits
British American Tobacco (BAT) owned 29.03 per cent stake in ITC as on December 31, 2023 against 29.04 per cent as on September 30, 2023.
In a stock exchange filing on Tuesday, ITC said David Robert Simpson, a Non-Executive Director, a representative of Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited, a subsidiary of British American Tobacco Plc, has tendered his resignation from the board of directors of the company with effect from January, 30, 2024, due to personal reasons.
Simpson (66) was appointed as the Non-Executive Director on the board of the company effective January 27, 2017. BAT has two representatives, including Simpson, on the board of ITC. Sunil Panray, a Non-Executive Director on the board, is also a representative of Tobacco Manufacturers (India) Limited, a subsidiary of BAT.