The shares will be divested through a so-called offer-for-sale window of the stock exchanges at a floor price of ₹275 apiece, the company said in a stock exchange filing yesterda.

Adani Commodities LLP, one of the founders of the company, will sell 175.45 million shares or a 13.5% stake, with a greenshoe option to offer another 84.5 million shares or 6.5%, the filing said.

The issue was fully subscribed today – the first day of the share sale reserved for institutional investors and wealthy individuals – getting 111% bids at 4.15pm in Mumbai, according to exchange data.

It continues on Jan 13 for retail buyers.

Adani Wilmar shares slumped 10% — the most since November — to close at ₹291.10, pushing the past year’s decline to 21%.

This is the first phase of the port-to-power conglomerate’s exit from the joint venture in which it holds 44%.

In the second phase, Singapore’s Wilmar International Ltd has agreed to acquire the residual stake at a price not exceeding ₹305.

After the transactions, the Gautam Adani-led conglomerate will fully exit the firm and use the proceeds to bolster its core infrastructure ventures that include airports and renewable energy.

The stake sale is happening amid legal challenges faced by Adani in the US, where federal prosecutors have alleged that the Indian billionaire was part of a bribery scheme to win solar energy contracts in India.

Rating agencies cited that as a potential risk to fund raising for the group, and placed multiple Adani firms on negative watch.

Adani Wilmar was slated to start a share sale last year to comply with a local securities law that requires at least 25% of the holding to be with public shareholders within three years of listing.

The company listed in 2022 and has until February to meet the rule.

Bloomberg reported in August 2023 that Adani Enterprises was exploring selling a stake sale in its consumer-staple joint venture for freeing up capital for core business.