BAT may begin phased stake sale in ITC Hotels: Sources

British American Tobacco (BAT) is likely to begin a phased sale of its stake in ITC Hotels, following the hospitality company’s demerger from ITC Limited earlier this year, sources told ET NOW. The sale could begin in the coming weeks, though the extent of the offloading remains unclear.

The move aligns with BAT’s earlier stance that it does not intend to be a long-term shareholder in ITC Hotels. The company currently holds a 14.55% stake in the recently demerged entity.

The demerger of ITC Hotels from ITC Limited took effect on January 1, 2025, with January 6 set as the record date. Post-demerger, ITC retained a 40% stake in ITC Hotels.

Sources said BAT intends to use proceeds from the stake sale to deleverage its balance sheet. The company had made a similar move in May, offloading a 2.5% stake in ITC Limited for approximately $1.4 billion, at Rs 413 per share.

BAT CEO Tadeu Marroco had previously confirmed the company’s lack of interest in holding onto its ITC Hotels stake, reinforcing expectations of a gradual exit.

Also Read: These 11 Nifty microcap stocks can rally 55-210% in the next 12 monthsITC Hotels reported a 19% year-on-year rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 257.85 crore for Q4 FY25, compared to Rs 216 crore a year earlier. Revenue from operations rose to Rs 1,060.62 crore from Rs 1,015.4 crore in the same period.For the full financial year 2024-25, the company posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 637.64 crore and revenue of Rs 3,559.81 crore.

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On Friday (June 13), ITC Hotels shares declined 1.7% to close at Rs 213.9 on the BSE.

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