RIL assumes Rs. 200 crore from sale of shares to LIC and Franklin Templeton

<p>Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is rolling on a high as the state run Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and private fund house Franklin Templeton upped their stakes in the conglomerate by buying 23 lakh shares, estimated to be around Rs. 200 crore, with LIC shelling Rs. 161 crore and Franklin Templeton incurring a cost of Rs. 37 crore at the current RIL share price of Rs. 867.10.</p> 
<p>While LIC has increased its stake in RIL to 7.16 per cent to ascertain an increase of 8.6 lakh shares, Franklin Templeton Investment Funds hiked its stake to 1.05 per cent to account for a rise by 4.3 lakh shares.</p>
<p>LIC, one of India’s biggest insurance agencies, had held 6.04 per cent share in Reliance Industries as of Sept. 30, 2009. It is currently one of the top holders among other institutions in the company, while Franklin Templeton has marked a stake towards reaching the same.</p>   
<p>The holding of large individual investors, with investments more than Rs. 1 lakh, fell down from 1.03 per cent to 0.96 per cent. However, small individual investors, with investments accounting for less than Rs. 1 lakh, were able to hike their holding in the company to 11.48per cent from 11.44 per cent. The promoter holding in the company remained unchanged at 44.72 per cent.</p>
<p>The sale of RIL’s shares comes at a time when the energy giant looks to buy a handful of petrochemicals firms, including LyondellBasell in a deal that sources claim could be worth an estimated $ 12 billion. Reliance Industries Limited, India’s largest private sector conglomerate, has been facing much pressure on account of the drop in its share price value following a 52-week high of Rs. 1,187.</p>
<p>Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is a broad scope enterprise with strong hold presence in sectors of energy, petrochemicals, synthetic fibers and retail, with gradually strengthening foothold in broadband services and financial services quarter.</p>