Mumbai: Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has sold a large number of shares in Asian Paints. On June 12, RIL said it sold 3.5 crore shares of Asian Paints at a price of Rs 2,201 per share. This was done through its company, Siddhant Commercials Limited.
The total value of this deal was around Rs 7,703 crore. This big transaction happened in a special block deal window before the stock market opened for normal trading. As reported by Bloomberg, about 3.5 percent equity of Asian Paints changed hands in this block deal.
After the sale, Reliance still owns 87 lakh shares in Asian Paints. This means the company has reduced its stake but has not exited fully.
This move comes at a time when Asian Paints is facing some business challenges. In the January to March 2025 quarter, the company reported a net profit of Rs 692 crore. This was much lower than what analysts expected—about Rs 1,069 crore.
Asian Paints also reported some major one-time losses. It had an exceptional item of Rs 182.96 crore. This included a loss of Rs 83.7 crore from selling its business in Indonesia. There were also impairment losses of Rs 77.8 crore on goodwill related to White Teak (Obgenix Software), and Rs 21.5 crore on intangibles related to Causeway Paints in Sri Lanka.
The company's revenue also dropped. It earned Rs 8,359 crore in the quarter, which was lower than the estimated Rs 8,619 crore.
Amit Syngle, Managing Director and CEO of Asian Paints, said that weak demand in the market has been affecting the paint industry for several quarters. This problem continued in the last quarter as well.
The sale by Reliance, along with the weak financial results, has raised concerns among investors. Many will be watching how Asian Paints plans to bounce back in the coming quarters.
