Hindustan Unilever jumps 20%, hits life high of Rs 597

Moneycontrol Bureau

Hindustan Unilever shares surged 20 percent in opening trade to touch a lifetime high of Rs 597 per share on NSE on Tuesday after its Anglo-Dutch parent Unilever said it is making a voluntary open offer to acquire 48.70 crore shares, which is 22.52 percent of the total voting share capital from the public shareholders of the largest consumer goods company in India. The open offer at Rs 600 a share is at a 20.5 percent premium and is worth Rs 29,190 crore. Unilever directly and through other firms like Brooke Bond Group, Unilever Overseas Holdings, Unilever UK & CN Holdings among others currently holds 52.47 percent stake in HUL and its stake can go up to 75 percent if the open offer is successful. HSBC is the sole manager to the open offer. The open offer from Unilever follows better-than-expected fourth quarter earnings by HUL. Its net profit for Jan-March quarter rose 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 787 crore (analysts expected Rs 761 crore), helped by lower cost of key raw materials. Net sales were up 13 percent to Rs 6,367 crore (analysts expected Rs 6,317 crore).