KOCHI: The Internationally-acclaimed Lulu Group chairman Yusuffali MA has amassed over two crore shares of Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) in the past five years, elevating his stake in Kerala’s crown jewel to a commanding 12.11 per cent as of March 31 2024.
The number of CIAL shares owned by Yusuffali towards end-FY19 was 3.78 crore, whereas the number towards the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) increased to 5.79 crore, rising by more than two crore.
During this period, the stake in percentage terms improved from 9.88 per cent to 12.11 per cent.
Yusuffali holds close to 5 per cent stake in Kerala-based banks such as Federal Bank, South Indian Bank (SIB), CSB Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank and ESAF Small Finance Bank.
For the first time in the past five years, Kerala Government has increased its holding in CIAL from 32.4 per cent to 33.38 per cent.
GoK raises stake
Kerala Government invested Rs3.56 crore in the CIAL rights issue, which raised Rs478.22 crore. The rights shares were sold at Rs50 per share including the premium of Rs40 and the issue remained open from March 1 to 30, after which the new shares were allotted on May 3, 2023.
While GoK bought 3.1 crore shares as the entitlement from the rights issue, additional 46 lakh shares may have been bought by GoK from the shareholders who renounced their rights entitlement taking the total holding from 12.40 crore shares to 15.96 crore.
This has raised its shareholding in CIAL from the earlier 32.42 per cent to 33.38 per cent.
Yusaffali shareholding
The financial year 2023-24 also saw Yusuffali MA, the second largest shareholder in CIAL, increase his shares in the company from 4.5 crore shares to 5.79 crore shares.
Yusaffali’s holding in CIAL as of March 31, 2024 shows that he has bought 16.73 lakh shares over and above the rights entitlement taking his stake in CIAL from 11.76 per cent to 12.11 per cent.
NV George holding drops
Curiously enough, NV George, who used to command larger holding than Yusuffali in CIAL until less than a decade ago, has pruned his holding from 7 per cent at the start of the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) to 5.94 per cent towards end-FY24.
One might find it quite mysterious that George has not subscribed to his full rights entitlement which came at just Rs50 per share against a market (grey) price of several multiples of that.
The final tally of George’s holding around 2.84 crore shares shows that he has foregone his rights entitlement to the extent of about 50 lakh shares despite the fact that CIAL shares could fetch huge gains in the grey market.
Maybe, George had sold his rights entitlement to a third party cutting a margin. George used to be the second largest shareholder in CIAL until about ten years ago.
Shareholding plummets
As of 2014-15 end (FY15) while Yusuffali used to hold 7.78 per cent of the CIAL’s shareholding against the current 12.11 per cent, George’s stake towards that time was far higher at 11.89 per cent, which as of end-FY24 stood at exactly half of that – at just 5.94 per cent.
