Govt sells 2.5% in L&T held through SUUTI, raises ₹4,000 crore

NEW DELHI: The government on Wednesday raised ₹4,000 crore through the sale of 2.5% stake in engineering firm Larsen & Toubro, held through Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI).

Shares of L&T closed at ₹1,753.85 on the BSE, up 0.19% over Tuesday’s close.

SUUTI, which was created to take over part of the assets and liabilities of the now-defunct Unit Trust of India, held 6.53% stake in L&T. With the sale, the government holding in L&T through SUUTI has come down to a little over 4%.

With this transaction, the government has garnered nearly ₹6,400 crore from disinvestment so far in the current fiscal. The government is looking to raise ₹72,500 crore through stake sales in 2017-18.

SUUTI holds stake in 51 companies with major holdings in ITC (9.17%) and Axis Bank (11.53%). In February, the government raised ₹6,700 crore through the sale of 2% stake in ITC, held through SUUTI.

The government had in November 2016 sold 1.63% in L&T, while in March 2014 it sold 9% stake in Axis Bank to raise ₹5,500 crore through block deals.