Pilani investment to make NSE debut next week

Shares of Pilani Investment and Industries, the investment arm of B K Birla group, are likely to debut on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) next week.

Pilani owns stakes in companies belonging to the B K Birla and Aditya Birla groups. Its major holdings include Century Textiles (36.78 per cent), Grasim Industries (4.69 per cent), Hindalco Industries (1.52 per cent) and Kesoram Industries (5.28 per cent).

At Friday’s closing prices on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the total value of Pilani’s stake in nine listed companies comes to around Rs 2,441 crore, according to the BS Research Bureau.

In anticipation of the company’s stock listing on national bourses, Pilani shares have gained nearly 23 per cent in a week in off-market deals and are fetching Rs 2,400 a share, according to persons dealing in Pilani shares. At this price, the company’s market capitalisation is estimated at about Rs 1,898 crore.

Pilani will join a list of investment firms of other groups like Adani Enterprises, Aditya Birla Nuvo, Bajaj Holdings and Tata Investment whose shares are listed on the country’s two premier stock exchanges.

Pilani shares are listed on the Madhya Pradesh Stock Exchange (MPSE) and the Delhi Stock Exchange (DSE). However, there has been no trading in shares of companies listed on these exchanges for several years.

The MPSE is planning to include Pilani among the first list of companies whose shares are likely to be available for trading on the NSE from next week, according to two persons familiar with the matter. However, Pilani shares may not debut on NSE on Diwali day. “Since Muhurat trading will be a very short session, price discovery will not be proper for such a large company,” said one of the persons cited earlier.

Apart from Pilani, the MPSE also plans to include Hira Ferro Alloys, Kriti Industries, Sarthak Industries, Panchsheel Organics, Neo Corp International and Shakti Pumps in the first list of companies to be traded on the NSE from next week. Shares of these companies will also be available for trading on the BSE within a few days after they start trading on the NSE.

The Indore-based bourse had signed an agreement in April, whereby companies listed on it would be available for trading on the BSE and the NSE under the permitted category. The agreement, under Section-13 of the Securities Contract Regulation Act, will also allow members of the MPSE to trade in shares of companies listed on the NSE and the BSE. The partnership is aimed at reviving trading on the MPSE after a gap of 10 years.

Members of the MPSE will go live on the NSE trading platform from Diwali muhurat trading on October 26.