RPower declares bonus at the ratio of 3:5

Mumbai, Feb 24 (UNI) Battered by a price hammering at the bourses, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group promoted Reliance Power today offered retail investors three bonus shares to five held by them.

Briefing newsmen after a Board meeting specially convened to decide on the bonus issue, Reliance Power Chairman Anil Ambani said the Board has considered a bonus for all non-promoter share holders of Reliance Power and Reliance Energy. The board has decided the price of shares at Rs 269 per share for the retail investors and Rs 281 for the non-retail investors, he said.

''Though the Board did not have any reason to consider issuance of bonus shares as a promoters he would reduce his holding by five per cent (from 45 per cent to 40 per cent. The holding by retail investors in Reliance Power would increase to 15 per cent form 10 per cent,'' Mr Ambani said.

He informed that the bonus issue would not apply to promoters of Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and Reliance Energy who together hold 90 per cent. ''Reliance Energy shareholders would not be affected by the announcement as he would divest 2.6 per cent of his personal holding to the Reliance Energy shareholders,'' he added.

In effect Mr Ambani would be transferring shares worth around Rs 5,000 crore (1.2 billion dollar) to Reliance Energy shareholders.

Post bonus issue, the price of the share for the retail investors would come down by 40 per cent to Rs 269 per share from original issue price of Rs 430, while for institutional investors, the price would be Rs 281, a reduction of 37 per cent from the original price of Rs 450.

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