Reliance Industries shares decline by up to Rs 262 as stock goes ex-demerger

Reliance Industries shares settled a special, one-hour pre-open session with a loss of around Rs 250–260 on Thursday, adjusted for the demerger of its financial services business. The stock of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate underwent a price discovery process for the demerger of Reliance Strategic Investments, which would be renamed Jio Financial Services.

Reliance shares settled at Rs 2,589 apiece on BSE as against their previous close of Rs 2,840, and at Rs 2,580 apiece on NSE as against the previous close of Rs 2,841.9 apiece. The special trading session began at 9 am, and normal trading commenced at 10 am. This is the first time that stock exchanges BSE and NSE conducted such a price discovery session for a stock to determine the value of Jio Financial Services shares.

At 10:15 am, the RIL stock traded at Rs 2,614 apiece on BSE and Rs 2,614.5 apiece on NSE. 

Here are some of the key things to know about this development:

What's in it for investors?

As part of the demerger scheme, shareholders will get one share of Jio Financial Services for each share held in Reliance Industries.

What changes from today?

Reliance will demerge its financial services business into Reliance Strategic Investment, as announced in October last year. The demerged entity will be renamed Jio Financial Services, which will eventually be listed on the bourses. 

What happened to RIL derivative contracts?

All Reliance Industries derivative contracts (futures & options) expired on Wednesday, a day ahead of the record date for the demerger. New contracts will be issued at 10 am on Thursday. 

So, what happens to RIL shares on July 20?

The price of Reliance Industries shares will be adjusted considering the separated entity's price. The closing price of RIL shares on Wednesday, July 19, will be used as a reference point for the price discovery process.

Will Jio Financial Services be added to any index?

Jio Financial Services shares will be added to a number of BSE and NSE indices for a period of three days, until the listing of Jio Financial Services. These include Nifty50, Nifty 100, Nifty 500, Nifty Energy, Nifty Oil & Gas, Sensex, BSE 500, BSE Energy and BSE Oil & Gas. 

Will Nifty have 51 stocks during this period?

Yes, the Nifty will have 51 constituents during the three-day period. 

(With inputs from agencies)