The Asset Reconstruction Company of India Ltd (Arcil) has sold close to 7% stake in the AC Muthiah Group flagship Southern Petrochemicals Industries Corporation (Spic) through a mix of on and off market deals.

Arcil is the nodal agency implementing the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) package okayed by the CDR cell to put the Tuticorin-based fertliser maker back on heels. Arcil had picked up a 12.71% stake in Spic after it converted a part of the debt of the company which it had bought from some of its lenders. The shares were allotted to Arcil in March this year.

According to information available with FE, Arcil had sold 11.77 lakh shares of Spic on the NSE for a consideration of Rs 23.9 per share and another 13.61 lakh shares on the BSE at Rs 25.53 per share on Friday. This works out to be a tad lower than 2% stake of the outstanding capital of Spic. On top of it, the distressed asset management company has sold 37,21,500 shares in small tranches between August 27, 2010 and September 17, 2010. An additional 26.72 lakh share were also sold by Arcil on September 23, 2010.

This takes the total number of shares sold by Arcil in Spic to 89,25,500 or 6.8% of the outstanding share capital of the company. Post sale, Arcil’s stake had came down to 5.9% from 12.71% it was holding as the quarter ending June this year. Spic has an issued capital of 1,31,17,3538 of equity shares with a face of Rs 10 each per share. Market men say, Arcil might have booked profits on its investment taking advantage of the general surge in stock prices. Spic stock closed on NSE on Monday at Rs 23.90, down by 5.35%. The sock had a 52-week high of Rs 28.35 and a low of Rs 10.70. Reopening of the company’s units at its Tuticorin fertiliser complex has been hanging fire for some time despite the promoters assuring shareholders about imminent commencement of production of these units.

Spic has a secured debt to the tune of Rs 4,101.17 crore on its book and it owns another Rs 400 crore to unsecured lenders. 85.55% of the company’s debt has been owned by Arcil.

Spic was forced to shut both its ammonia and urea plants way back in 2006 as its lenders refused to open fresh letters of credit (LCs) to meet its working capital requirements, after two of its bankers ? Tamilnad Mercantile Bank and Punjab National Bank approached the Debt Recovery Tribunal, Chennai, for recovering dues from the company.