Rakesh Jhunjhunwala trims stake in Prime Focus, Pipavav Defence

MUMBAI: Ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala has sold or trimmed his holdings in two stocks — Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company and Prime Focus — after the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) bought large stakes in them.

As per the shareholding disclosures by Pipavav Defense for the quarter ending March 31, 2015, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala and his wife Rekha, who together held 3.41 per cent stake in the company till December 30, 2014, have sold their entire holding or brought it down below 1 per cent. Stakes below 1 per cent does not figure in the shareholding data.

Anil Ambani-led Reliance Infrastructure acquired management control in Pipavav Defense by buying 18 per cent stake from the promoters and made an open offer for another 26 per cent from public shareholders.

In Prime Focus, Jhunjhunwala and his wife Rekha sold 3.04 per cent stake in July-September 2014 and another 3.10 per cent stake during October-December 2014. Jhujhunwalas owned 6.14 per cent in Prime Focus as on June 30, 2014. In July, ADAG’s Reliance MediaWork said it would buy 30.2 per cent stake in Prime Focus and made a mandatory open offer.



While the reasons for Jhunjhunwala’s exit from these companies are not known, many traders had turned cautious on Pipavav Defence after the ADAG’s stake purchase because of the group’s poor show on the bourses.

Reliance Infrastructure, Reliance Power and Reliance Communications declined 17 per cent, 19 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively, in the last one year against the 23 per cent rise in the benchmark Sensex. Reliance Capital has gained 14 per cent in a year.

The fall in Pipavav Defense shares was also on account of the lower-thanexpected price that Reliance Infrastructure paid to acquire the stake. Pipavav shares had surged 55 per cent to .`76.50 in the one-month leading up to the announcement on March 4 that Reliance Infrastructure had agreed to buy stake in the company.

ADAG had pipped Mahindra & Mahindra and Hero MotoCorp in the race to buy Pipavav.