The Hindu Business Line : Wipro's Vivek Paul sheds some stake

THE Vice-Chairman and CEO of Wipro Ltd, Mr Vivek Paul, has sold close to four lakh shares of Wipro, including 2.2 lakh American Depository Shares (ADSs) of the company, over the last three months.

When contacted, Mr Paul refused to make any comments on the stake sale. "I cannot provide any comment on the sale other than that which is statutorily required, which includes filing on trading activity as well as balance shares held, both of which are available through our filings with the exchanges as well as in our quarterly reporting," he said.

It is estimated that Mr Paul could have mopped up a gross value of around Rs 20 crore from the sale.

This is based on the fact that Mr Paul sold 176,350 shares sometime in the last week of July, when the Wipro share price was hovering around Rs 520 .

Subsequently, when he sold about 2.2 lakh ADSs in the first two weeks of September, the price averaged $18 each at the New York Stock Exchange.

Around the same time, the stock's price in the domestic market was slightly below Rs 600.

Commenting on the mop-up, Mr Paul said that it was overestimated.

"When one exercises the options, the net receipts are the difference between strike price and sale price. Since the strike price of the options is also publicly known, as well as the sale price, this computation is easy to make and will be part of quarterly disclosures as required by law," he said.

"Suffice it to say, the net gain is in the range of one thousandth of what many tech company CEOs in the US would have made from their options!"

Wipro had informed the stock exchange that Mr Paul had sold 176,350 shares on July 26, bringing down his shareholding to 3,52,700 equity shares.

Subsequently, he bought 52,500 Wipro shares through exercising stock options, which increased his holding to 405,200 shares.

Further, on September 8, Wipro informed the exchange that Mr Paul had sold 20,050 ADSs.

On September 13, he exercised about 2,00,000 of the vested ADS stock options and sold them.

Little is known about the buyers of Mr Paul's stocks. However, for one block deal, he is said to have appointed Smith Barney as manager.

Despite this sale, Mr Paul's holding in Wipro Ltd remains intact, according to company sources. He has exercised his options and encashed them, which is a common practice in the US, they added.