Adani Group is in talks with multiple multinational consumer goods companies to sell its entire 43.97% stake in Adani Wilmar Ltd, which owns the Fortune brand of edible oils and packaged grocery, said executives familiar with the matter. A deal, they said, is likely to be finalised within a month.
The ports-to-renewable energy conglomerate is expecting $2.5-3 billion for the stake in the joint venture with Singapore-based Wilmar International, which too owns 43.97% of the company, they said.
Emails sent to Adani Group and Adani Wilmar remained unanswered as of press time on Sunday.
Wilmar International declined to comment.
Further investment in group
Adani Wilmar’s share price has eased from Rs 488 in mid-May to Rs 317.45 on Friday, giving it a market value of Rs 41,258 crore ($4.96 billion).
“Adani Group will exit a few businesses to invest more deeply in core focus areas such as infrastructure,” one executive said. “Plans to disinvest its stake in Adani Wilmar are on these lines,” he said, adding that proceeds from the proposed sale are likely to be used for investments in other group businesses, and not to pare debt.
Adani Wilmar is one of the largest players in the edible oil segment. Last fiscal year, the company reported a net profit of Rs 607 crore on revenue of Rs 55,262 crore.
Group promoters have been considering stake sales in non-core assets to create a liquidity buffer, after the Hindenburg short-seller report on the group earlier this year led to the sudden pullout of a proposed share sale in the flagship Adani Enterprises and triggered a $150-billion wealth erosion for investors. The group companies have since recovered most of the losses in their share prices.