Hindustan Unilever share slips 5% as GSK sells stake via block deal

Hindustan Unilever share slips 5% as GSK sells stake via block deal

On Thursday, HUL shares opened trade in the negative terrain at Rs 1,951 and declined as much 5.35 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,902.30 on the BSE

Chitranjan Kumar   New Delhi     Last Updated: May 7, 2020  | 12:43 IST
HUL shares were trading 1.47 per cent lower at Rs 1,980.65 apiece on the National Stock Exchange

Shares of Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) tumbled over 5 per cent in early deals on Thursday after British drugmaker Glaxo-SmithKline (GSK) plc sold a part of its stake in fast moving consumer goods (FMGC) major via block deals.

After last year's merger of GSK Consumer Healthcare, the health foods portfolio of GSK, and the HUL, GSK plc was planning to sell its stake in the FMCG major. The pharma major owns a 5.7 per cent equity stake in HUL.

According to Bloomberg report, 9 crore shares of HUL were traded in six bunches on the stock exchanges early today, representing around 3.8 per cent stake. The value of transaction is estimated to be around Rs 18,000 crore as of HUL's Wednesday closing price of Rs 2,010.2 on the National Stock Exchange. The name of the buyers and sellers could not be ascertained immediately.

On Thursday, HUL shares opened trade in the negative terrain at Rs 1,951 and declined as much 5.35 per cent to hit an intraday low of Rs 1,902.30 on the BSE. There was also spurt in volume trade as 73.73 lakh shares changed hands on the counter as compared to two-week average volume of 1.31 lakh crore shares on the BSE till 12:00 PM.

In a similar trend, HUL shares were trading 1.47 per cent lower at Rs 1,980.65 apiece on the National Stock Exchange. The stock hit an intraday low and high of Rs 1,982.85 and Rs 1,902, respectively.

In December 2018, FMCG giant Unilever had announced the acquisition of health food portfolio from GSK Consumer Healthcare, including popular brands Horlicks and Boost, for $3.8 billion, to expand its food and refreshment business in India.

On April 1, 2020, HUL completed merger of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare with itself after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. The merger of GSK Consumer Healthcare with HUL was done on the basis of an exchange ratio of 4.39 HUL shares for each GSK Consumer Healthcare share, implying a total equity value of Rs 31,700 crore for 100 per cent of GSK Consumer Healthcare.

Post the merger, GSK plc became the second-largest shareholder in the merged entity with 5.7 per cent stake while Anglo-Dutch Unilever's stake in HUL declined to 61.9 per cent from 67.2 per cent earlier.