Aditya Birla Group’s Pilani Investment and Industries Corp. is seeking to raise as much as ₹1,909 crore ($200 million) by selling a 0.57% stake in UltraTech Cement Ltd through a block trade on Thursday, 13 August, according to a term sheet seen by Mint.
The seller is offering about 1.7 million UltraTech shares at a floor price of ₹11,481 apiece, a 3% discount to the cement maker’s closing price of ₹11,836 on 12 August. Pilani Investment currently holds a 1.5% stake in UltraTech, while promoter entities collectively own more than 59%.
Jefferies India Pvt. Ltd is the sole bookrunner and broker for the transaction. The seller will be subject to a 60-day lock-up after the trade is executed. At the time of publishing, an upsize option for the transaction remains to be updated.
Pilani Investment is a core investment company and non-banking financial company (NBFC-CIC) that serves as a major holding and investment arm of the Aditya Birla Group in India. It does not accept public deposits and focuses on holding long-term equity stakes in group companies rather than active day-to-day trading.
A wider wave of exits
The proposed sale comes as investors and early backers continue to monetize sizeable holdings through secondary-market transactions.
Earlier this month, Elevation Capital sold about $200 million worth of shares in Paytm parent One 97 Communications Ltd, while separately joining Peak XV Partners to offer another $200 million tranche in Meesho Ltd.
On 23 July, Fidelity-backed Eight Roads Ventures, Walmart-owned Flipkart Internet and IMM India Fund offered to sell a combined stake of up to 9.08% in Shadowfax Technologies Ltd for about $100 million.
Lenskart Solutions Ltd has also seen early investors pare holdings after their lock-ins expired. Singapore sovereign wealth fund Temasek sold a 2% stake in the eyewear retailer for ₹1,940 crore this month, following a 2.3% stake sale by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund for a similar amount. On 3 June, a SoftBank entity sold a 3.25% stake in Lenskart through a ₹2,873 crore block deal.
UltraTech’s Q1
The Pilani Investment transaction comes nearly a month after UltraTech, India’s largest cement maker, reported a strong first quarter for FY27.
Net profit rose nearly 17% year-on-year to ₹2,599 crore in the April-June quarter, driven by operational efficiencies and market execution, while revenue grew 16% to ₹24,648 crore. Capacity utilization stood at 81%. The company beat analyst estimates for both revenue and profit despite one of the sharpest fuel-cost shocks in recent years.
Robust cement demand, double-digit volume growth, contributions from acquired businesses and disciplined cost management helped UltraTech offset higher fuel and freight costs.
In a post-earnings call with analysts, chief financial officer Atul Daga said the company entered FY27 with a robust capacity base, backed by double-digit volume growth and strong demand from infrastructure, housing and urban real estate. Despite its market leadership, he said the company would continue to grow “like a challenger”.