On December 4, British American Tobacco said its subsidiaries intended to sell between 7% and 15.3% of their ITC Hotels shares through an accelerated bookbuild, with the exact amount to be set by optimal pricing. CEO Tadeu Marroco said the proceeds would help BAT move toward its “target 2–2.5x net debt/EBITDA leverage” by the end of 2026.

The sale was completed on December 5: 187.5 million ordinary shares were placed with investors via the accelerated bookbuild. Those Block Trade Shares equal 9% of ITC Hotels’ issued ordinary share capital and raised INR 38.2 bn ($420 million). After the transaction, BAT retains a 6.3% stake in ITC Hotels.

Founded in 1975, ITC Hotels has expanded to more than 140 hotels across over 90 destinations in the Indian subcontinent.

This article was adapted from an original report published on tobaccoreporter.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.