Reliance Retail valued at Rs 2.4 lakh cr in share-swap scheme

Mumbai: RIL-run retail major Reliance Retail has been valued at around Rs 2.4 lakh crore as per a proposed share-swap scheme for the shareholders. Under to the scheme, shareholders of Reliance Retail would get one share of the listed Reliance Industries (RIL), in exchange for four of its shares.

“Every ‘Specified Shareholder’ shall receive 1 (One) RIL equity share for every 4 (Four) equity shares held by them as on the Record Date (Share Exchange Ratio),” said a statement on the Reliance Retail’s website. At the end of Wednesday’s trade, RIL’s market capitalisation stands at over Rs 9,60,991.56 crore and thereby as per the arrangement, Reliance Retail’s valuation stands at over Rs 2.4 lakh crore.

Reliance Retail is an unlisted subsidiary of Reliance Retail Ventures and an indirect subsidiary of petroleum-to-telecom behemoth RIL. The statement on its site said that the company had implemented two schemes, namely Reliance Retail Employees’ Restricted Stock Unit Plan 2006 and 2007 under which Restricted Stock Units (RSU) have been allotted to eligible employees.

“On exercise of the RSUs by some of the employees, equity shares have been allotted to them. Some RSUs are outstanding against which equity shares will be allotted on exercise before effectiveness of this scheme of arrangement,” it said.The number of RSUs outstanding as on December 11, 2019 is 17,54,894 against which 10,52,937 equity shares are proposed to be allotted before the scheme comes into effect.

“The company has been receiving requests from the employees holding Equity Shares for providing them options for exit and liquidity, including by way of listing of the equity shares,” it said.Further, the statement also said that the company does not have any plan for listing of its equity shares on the stock exchanges.

“The company is proposing this scheme in terms of which, equity shareholders of the company other than the holding company viz., Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (Specified Shareholders), are being given listed equity shares of Reliance Industries Limited and the corresponding equity share capital held by them in the company is being reduced and cancelled. This scheme enables the specified shareholders to continue to participate in the growth of retail business, as hitherto since the company is an indirect subsidiary of Reliance Industries.”

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd holds 99.95 per cent of Reliance Retail and employees own the remaining 0.05 per cent.