Hindustan Unilever hits new high; parent ups stake to 67%

Moneycontrol Bureau

Hindustan Unilever hit a life high of Rs 632 in morning trade on NSE on Friday, after its Anglo-Dutch parent revealed that it had increased its stake in the company to 67.28 percent via an open offer that closed on Thursday, which is short of its earlier target to raise stake up to 75 percent. Speaking to CNBC-TV18, economic affairs secretary, Arvind Mayaram said that Unilever's stake-hike in HUL was a statement of faith in the India economy. "We should only look at it as a positive statement of their (Unilever’s) faith in the Indian economy. This is something we have been saying. India has a strong economy with a bright future, otherwise companies like Unilever wouldn’t be making statements that indicate faith in the economy. I think that is what we need to do." Unilever earlier had 52.48 percent stake in the India's largest fast moving consumer goods maker. The London and Rotterdam-based maker of Surf detergent and Lipton tea said in a statement that shareholders of HUL tendered 319,699,278 shares during the tender period for the open offer. The offer price of Rs 600 per share values the transaction at about Rs 19,180 crore or Euro 2.45 billion, it added. Unilever had first announced the open offer on April 30 as a part of its strategy to raise its stake in fast growing emerging markets. Paul Polman, Unilever's CEO, said that as a result of the open offer it will significantly increase the stake in HUL, which was an "excellent" Indian business with a potential for "attractive" long-term growth. At 9:45hrs, HUL shares were trading at Rs 619, up near 3 percent on NSE.