According to a Reuters report on May 28, British American Tobacco (BAT) sold $1.5 billion worth of shares in Indian consumer goods company ITC at a price of 413 Indian rupees per share.
According to the term sheet, BAT offloaded 313 million ITC shares, representing a 2.5% stake in the company. This final amount exceeded the company’s initial plan to sell up to 290 million shares worth about $1.4 billion in the deal.
Data from the London Stock Exchange shows that BAT remains ITC’s largest shareholder after the transaction. The term sheet indicated that Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Citigroup (C.N) led the deal. BAT stated that the transaction would increase its £1.1 billion ($1.49 billion) share buyback program for 2025 by £200 million and is not expected to have any further impact on its annual outlook.
In 2024, BAT sold 436.9 million shares—about 3.5% of ITC’s free float—for roughly $2 billion.
Public records show that ITC Limited, headquartered in Kolkata, India, was originally established as the Imperial Tobacco Company of India Limited. Over time, it has evolved into one of India’s leading conglomerates with businesses spanning fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG), hospitality, paperboards, agriculture, and IT services.
