By Nesil Staney
GQG Partners is planning to raise investments in ITC and its associate ITC Hotels, said source close to the firm. Both the companies are part of its 13-stock India portfolio. This comes after a $5-billion contrarian bet on Adani Group turned highly profitable for GQG.
GQG currently holds shares worth Rs 60,000 crore in Indian companies. Its two large mandates in emerging markets are GQG Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund and Goldman Sachs GQG Partners International Opportunities Fund. These funds own 1.96% and 1.51%, respectively, in ITC.
The two largest holdings of the Goldman Sachs GQG fund are British American Tobacco (BAT) and Philip Morris International. GQG plans to raise stake in ITC on par with BAT and Philip Morris, said the source.
In May, GQG snapped up a portion of the partial sale of ITC shares by BAT to increase holding to 5.5%. The market capitalisation of ITC stands at Rs 5.24 lakh crore. In the March quarter, GQG purchased a 1.84% stake in ITC Hotels for Rs 811 crore.
GQG, founded by Rajiv Jain, owns eight stocks in Adani Group and ITC Group. The five other firms in GQG portfolio are: JSW Energy, Patanjali Foods, GMR Airports, Macrotech Developers and IDFC First Bank.
The Hindenburg scandal induced a $150-billion meltdown in Adani Group firms in 2023. Following that, GQG bought shares of Adani Enterprises (1.72%), Adani Power (1.8%), Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (1.5%), Adani Green Energy (1.92%) and Adani Energy Solutions.
Abu Dhabi’s sovereign International Holding Company also backed Adani with a $2.5-billion bet. Both GQG and IHC are now sitting on substantial returns from the rise in Adani Group shares.
In November 2024, GQG shares listed in Australia fell 25% following US bribery charges against Gautam Adani. GQG also holds a large stake in Ambuja Cements, part of Adani Group since 2022, acquired from Swiss multinational Holcim.