Hopes belied; ADAG stocks nosedive,RIL slides too

Investors who bet on the Reliance Industries annual general meeting becoming a theatre of rapprochement for the Ambani brothers were badly disappointed....

Investors who bet on the Reliance Industries annual general meeting becoming a theatre of rapprochement for the Ambani brothers were badly disappointed,with stocks both of RIL and ADAG companies closing in the red. Contrary to expectations,Anil Ambani did not turn up at the AGM. Lack of specifics about the new RIL ventures in Mukesh Ambanis speech left investors unimpressed,with RIL falling 1.5 per cent or Rs 16.05 to Rs 1,055.25 while the benchmark 30-share Sensex fell 0.26 per cent.

There were no out-of-the-ordinary announcements and those made were already expected, said Amit Shah,associate director,BNP Paribas Securities Services.

ADAG stocks fared worse. With Mukesh Ambani not spelling out details of how RIL will supply gas to his brothers power plants,Reliance Natural Resources (RNRL) crashed 7.52 per cent to Rs 62.75 on the BSE. At the AGM,Mukesh merely said that RIL would have a harmonious relationship with ADAG and supply gas to Reliance Power subject to government approvals.

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Said Manish Sonthalia,fund manager at Motilal Oswal Financial Services: Expectations on the gas supply agreement with RNRL and RILs venture into telecom business were high. The market was looking forward to some sort of cooperation between the Ambani brothers. Since there was no major announcement,investors decided to take some profit off the table.

The RNRL stock crashed 7.52 per cent while Reliance Power,RComm and Reliance Capital lost 3.61 per cent,3.58 per cent and 3.94 per cent respectively. The Street was also expecting some mention of an alliance between the Ambani brothers in telecommunications,but the senior Ambani mentioned only the broadband business. Had Anil Ambani turned up at the AGM,as many had expected,investors may have been more confident that the brothers would be working together. With the demise of the non-compete pact,Mukesh is now in a position to venture into areas like power,where the younger Ambani is trying to make a mark. The entry of RIL into these sectors would only mean more competition for the ADAG Group. There was no follow-up action since the non-compete pact was scrapped, said Anil Advani,head of equity at SBICap Securities.

Since May 24 when the pact was discontinued,ADAG stocks have gained an average of over 35 per cent on expectations that the younger Ambani would receive some assistance from his elder brother. In the same period,RNRL gained 52.47 per cent,Reliance Power 26.87 per cent,Reliance Capital 19.14 per cent and RCom 43.44 per cent,compared to a Sensex gain of 7.12 per cent. In a note to its clients in May,Goldman Sachs had said RIL and RNRL may soon complete negotiations on gas supplies. We believe the potential finalisation of gas supplies,subject to government approval,will enable Reliance Power to expedite pre-construction activities for its gas-based projects,complete financial closure and award the equipment order, said the report.