Reliance Sells Major Stake in Asian Paints to SBI MF

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), via its subsidiary Siddhant Commercials Pvt Ltd, sold a 3.64% stake in Asian Paints Ltd—amounting to 3.5 crore shares at Rs 2,201 each—for approximately Rs 7,703.5 crore ($900 million). This transaction reduced RIL's holding in Asian Paints from 4.9% to 1.26%, with SBI Mutual Fund becoming the primary buyer and raising its stake from 1.51% to 5.15%. The deal is notable as one of the largest single buyer-single seller trades in Indian stock market history and yielded nearly a 23-fold return for Reliance, which had originally invested Rs 500 crore in 2008. The sale is part of Reliance's strategy to monetize non-core investments. Asian Paints shares rose slightly despite the company posting weaker-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue. After the transaction, Reliance retains 87 lakh shares in Asian Paints.