(ET)
India’s Reliance Industries Ltd said it will consider its first rights issue in almost 30 years when its board meets on Thursday, in another attempt to slash its debt. In an exchange filing late on Monday the oil-to-retail conglomerate said a rights issue would be on the table at the meeting although it gave no details of what exactly was under consideration.
The discussions come after Facebook revealed plans to spend $5.7 billion to buy a 9.99 per cent stake in Reliance’s digital arm, raising questions about why the Indian company would need to raise addi0tional capital through a rights offer. “Reliance’s rights issue is a surprise, considering that they are getting equity infusion from Facebook,” said Naveen Kulkarni, chief investment officer at Axis Securities.
