Tata Group's retail subsidiary Trent to raise up to Rs 1,550 cr for expansion plans; shares rise by 1.41%

New Delhi: Tata Group’s retail arm Trent Ltd on Tuesday announced plans to raise up to Rs 1,550 crore in the current financial year through a combination of issuance of shares to its promoter Tata Sons on a preferential basis and other options, to fund its expansion. “The board of directors at its meeting…approved the issue of equity shares on a preferential basis to Tata Sons Pvt Ltd, promoter of the company, subject to such regulatory/ statutory approvals as may be required, including approval of the shareholders of the company,” Trent Ltd said in a regulatory filing. [caption id=“attachment_6013191” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The company said the total amount to be raised from the issuance of shares to the promoter is about Rs 950 crore. Separately, Trent said, “Independent of the above issuance, the board of directors also appointed a committee of the board to explore options to raise additional funds not exceeding Rs 600 crore in the financial year 2019-20 by issue of equity shares or other securities including through qualified institutional placement (QIP), rights issue or any other permissible mode or a combination thereof.” “Options shortlisted by the committee, if any, shall be presented to the board of directors for consideration,” the company added. Trent Ltd said it is witnessing positive traction for its lifestyle retail concepts and consequently pursuing a substantially accelerated growth programme across the Westside, Zudio and Star formats. “The foregoing fundraising proposal was considered by the board of directors in the context of the company’s funding requirements given the growth plans,” it added. Shares of Trent Ltd closed 1.41 percent higher at Rs 395.05 apiece on the BSE.