Trent seeks shareholders nod to raise funds from Tata Sons to finance expansion, reduce debt

New Delhi: Tata group retail chain Trent Ltd on Monday said it is seeking shareholders approval to allot up to 2.46 crore equity shares to Tata Sons. Trent plans to raise funds through preferential allotment of shares to promoter Tata Sons to finance expansion and reduce debt. The shareholders are requested to “record their assent (for) or dissent (against) in the postal ballot form and return the same” by Wednesday, July 24, 2019, Trent Ltd said in a BSE filing. “Postal ballot forms received after that date will be strictly treated as if a reply from such Member has not been received,” Trent added. According to the Tata Enterprise owned firm, the company will utilise the proceeds from the preferential issue to fund the various related growth plans, projects and future investments. [caption id=“attachment_4338547” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] Future investments include – expansion and automation of supply chain/warehouse capacity, scaling up and upgrading information technology /digital infrastructure and investments in retail real estate developments. The proceeds may also be utilised to address existing borrowings and other general corporate purposes of the company, it added. Post the preferential allotment, Tata Sons’ holding in Trent will increase to 32.73 percent from existing 27.74 percent, while the overall promoters’ holding in the retail firm will rise to 37.27 percent from 32.61 percent at present. Tata Group’s retail arm Trent Ltd on 18 June, had 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 company had said that 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 financial year 2019-20 by issue of equity shares or other securities including through qualified institutional placement, rights issue or any other permissible mode or a combination thereof.” Established in 1998 as part of the Tata Group, Trent Ltd had reported a revenue of Rs 2,109 crore and PAT of Rs 117 crore. It operates 143 Westside stores selling its own branded fashion apparel and 20 Zudio stores across 12 cities retailing fashion products. While under Star brand, it also operates 26 supermarkets and 10 hypermarkets selling fresh food and grocery retail chain. Trent also operates, which is a family entertainment format store with a focus on toys, adult and young adult books, sports-related merchandise, tech accessories, gaming and stationery.