Mumbai: Reliance Industries Ltd raised Rs26 billion ($559.5 million) by selling 25 million shares at a 5% discount to Life Insurance Corp of India, two sources with knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

The sale of existing treasury shares comes as energy-based conglomerate Reliance Industries, India’s largest listed firm, looks to buy bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell in a deal sources say could be worth as much as $12 billion.

Reliance, which is controlled by India’s richest man, Mukesh Ambani, and has interests in petrochemicals, refining, oil and gas exploration and retail, had raised $660 million in a share sale in September.

The latest sale is priced at Rs1,035 each, or 5% below the stock’s closing price on Thursday. Shares in Reliance Industries were down 1.8% at Rs1,069.80 on Monday, after dropping to as low as Rs1,022 earlier.

Citigroup and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch were arrangers for the deal, sources said.

A Reliance spokesman declined to comment.

State-run Life Insurance Corp of India, the country’s biggest insurer, had held 6.04% in Reliance Industries as of 30 September 2009, according to Thomson Reuters data. It is the top holder among institutions in the company.