Why lowering promoter pledging is not enough to fire up Emami stock

Sale of group's non-core assets is a plus, but sustainable growth is vital to command higher valuation

A few months after entering into a binding agreement with Nuvoco Vistas Corporation (formerly Lafarge India) to sell its cement business, Emami Group is now divesting its solar power business (Emami Power is owned 100 per cent by promoters) to Brookfield Asset Management.

While deal-value details are not known and Emami Power is a separate entity from Emami Limited — the group’s listed fast-moving consumer goods company — it will have some bearing on the latter.

The latest deal is part of the group’s non-core asset sale programme to lower promoter debt. Given that higher promoter pledging (89.2 per cent as of