Premji may sell 4.5% Wipro stake

Talks of Azim Premji, chairman of Wirpo Ltd, looking to dilute his stake in the company to 75% from the current 80% erupted again on Wednesday.

However, a company insider, who asked not to be named, said the founder of the soap-to-software company is not likely to do that any time soon.

He said Premji was under no compulsion to reduce his stake to meet the government rule of 25% public holding for all listed companies.

“As far as the government clause (of 25% public holding) is concerned, there is still a lot of time for that to happen. Also, the 25% public holding rule does not apply to companies that have 20 million share outstanding and market capitalisation of over
Rs 1,000 crore. For them, it is just 10%,” he said.

According to media reports on Wednesday, Premji is considering trimming his holding in Wipro by 4.47% to 75.14%, which could help him raise around Rs 4,000 crore at the current market price of Rs 695-700 per share.

He is reportedly likely to sell his stake in the open market or to mutual funds.

The cash raised from the sale of shares would be put into his private equity arm Premjiinvest and non-profit Azim Premji Foundation.

“He has undertaken many education initiatives through his foundation that assists NGOs and government schools through funding. These activities have been going on for over a decade now, under which 50 million children and many teachers have been covered,” said the senior Wipro executive.

In March, the Karnataka Legislative Council cleared the Azim Premji University Bill for setting up the first private varsity in the state.

Wipro will announce its financal result on Friday after bigger rivals Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys Technologies.