Does <26% BAT shareholding indicate strategic shift? BAT (British American Tobacco) has cut its shareholding in ITC from 25.5% to 22.9% last week. BAT was the largest shareholder (Non promoter) in ITC and was known to be keen on control of this crown jewel till the mid-nineties. BAT cut its stake in March 2024 by 3.6% and general perception was that BAT will retain >25% stake to have a say in specific resolutions. BAT has been on record with the intent of selling its stake in recently demerged ITC Hotels (15.4% stake valued at Rs 68bn), however sales of ~2.5% stake in ITC Ltd have come as a surprise, as it has brought its stake to below 26%. We see little impact of this event on the business operations of ITC, which have been working as a professionally run organization for many decades. ITC controls the entire supply chain, technology, brands and distribution unlike many MNC...