British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) on Friday sold a 9 per cent stake in ITC Hotels for ₹3,820 crore, paring its holding in the company to 6.3 per cent.
In a regulatory filing, the maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike said on Friday that it had completed the block trade of 187.5 million ordinary shares in ITC Hotels with investors by way of an accelerated book-building process.
The ITC Hotels stock on Friday closed at ₹206 a share on the BSE, down by 0.84 per cent.
ITC’s hotels division was demerged in January. As a result of its shareholding in ITC at the time of the demerger, BAT’s shareholding in ITC Hotels stood at 15.3 per cent.
In the statement to the stock exchange, BAT said that following the completion of the block trade, BAT retains a 6.3 per cent holding in ITC Hotels.
BAT’s move to monetise its holding in ITC Hotels is part of an effort to bring down its debt.
While informing about the plan to sell stake in ITC Hotels, BAT Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tadeu Luiz Marroco had said in a statement on Thursday that the direct shareholding in ITC Hotels was a result of the demerger process that was completed by ITC earlier this year.
He added that a direct stake in ITC Hotels was not a strategic holding for BAT. “Therefore, I am pleased that the proceeds from this transaction will further support continued progress towards our stated 2026 leverage corridor,” he said.
The company is looking to move within the target of 2-2.5x adjusted net debt/adjusted Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) leverage corridor (adjusted for Canada) by the end of 2026.
BAT also monetised part of its holding in ITC in March 2024, and again in May 2025 to fund its share buyback programme. The move pushed its holding below the 25 per cent threshold, leading to the loss of its veto rights in the cigarettes-to-soaps conglomerate.
A 25 per cent holding allows shareholders to influence or oppose resolutions, especially special resolutions that require 75 per cent of the votes cast to be in their favour.
Following the partial stake sale in May, BAT’s stake in ITC stood at 22.93 per cent.
