Mumbai: The stock of shipbuilder Pipavav Defence & Offshore Engineering Co Ltd slipped as much as 4.5% in early trades on Tuesday, following news that market regulator Sebi had asked stock exchanges for details of trades done in the Pipavav Defence stock prior to the company’s March 4 announcement of a stake sale to Anil Ambani’s Reliance Infrastructure (formerly Reliance Energy).
At 10 a.m. on Tuesday morning, the Pipavav Defence (formerly Pipavav Shipyard) share was trading at INR57.10, down from its Monday closing of INR59.75.
Sebi is probing allegations of insider trading, and has instructed stock exchanges to ascertain whether some market entities had built positions in the stock, aided by prior knowledge of the impending stock sale.
“Exchanges have informed the regulator that they have written to the company and are waiting for its response,” a Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) official said.
Shares of Pipavav Defence, promoted by Nikhil Gandhi, had surged by 55% from INR48 levels at end-January to INR76.50 during the month before the announcement of the deal.
