India Cements rallies 10% on reports RK Damani may buy controlling stake

Shares of India Cements rallied over 10 percent on Wednesday on reports that ace investor Radhakisan Damani is likely to buy a controlling stake in the company.

Radhakisan S Damani, who is the owner of supermarkets chain D-Mart, and his family has 19.89 percent shareholding in the company as of March 2020 quarter, BSE shareholding pattern shows. Meanwhile, N Srinivasan and other promoters hold a 28.26 percent equity stake in the cement company.

The stock jumped as much as 10.5 percent to Rs 139.30 per share on BSE in intra-day deals. It has rallied around 77 percent so far in 2020.

As per the report, has informally reached out to N Srinivasan, to explore a takeover. Srinivasan is also exploring other investors to ward off any hostile bids, it added.

Damani first invested in the firm in September 2019 quarter, when he bought a 1.3 percent stake and then by December quarter, he held a 4.73 percent stake in the company. Then, in March 2020 quarter alone, he and his brother Gopikishan Shivkishan Damani bought a 15.16 percent stake, taking their total shareholding in the cement company to 19.89 percent.