ITC Shares Surge Over 3% as IT Arm ITC Infotech Announces ₹1,329 Crore Acquisition Stake in Happiest Minds

Shares of India's leading diversified FMCG and conglomerate giant, ITC Limited, witnessed a strong positive breakout in Tuesday's trading session, jumping over 3 percent and providing a major boost to the broader Nifty FMCG index. The sudden rally comes on the heels of a massive strategic corporate announcement revealing that ITC's technology subsidiary, ITC Infotech, has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire a significant 22.106 percent stake in Bengaluru-based digital IT services firm Happiest Minds Technologies for ₹1,329 crore.

Intraday Performance and Relief for Long-Term Investors

Opening the trading day at ₹261 per share, ITC stock quickly gained momentum, scaling an intraday high of ₹267.50 during early morning trade. The 3 percent upswing offers much-needed relief to retail and institutional shareholders, especially given that the counter had faced sustained downward pressure, declining roughly 35 percent since January of this year following a negative 11 percent return throughout 2025. This latest strategic development has renewed market optimism regarding the conglomerate's technology expansion and long-term earnings visibility.

Key Financial Tranches and Deal Structure

According to regulatory filings released on Monday, Happiest Minds Technologies confirmed that its promoter group—led by veteran IT entrepreneur Ashok Soota along with Ashok Soota Medical Research LLP—will divest a 22.1 percent stake to ITC Infotech in a multi-phased transaction aimed at building a larger, more competitive technology services entity.

The transaction involves the transfer of 33.66 million equity shares, each having a face value of ₹2, structured across two distinct tranches:

• Tranche I: ITC Infotech will acquire an initial 11 percent stake for ₹653 crore, calculated at a price of ₹390 per share.

• Tranche II: The remaining 11.106 percent stake will be acquired for ₹676 crore, priced at ₹400 per share, successfully closing the ₹1,329 crore total acquisition framework.

Market analysts note that while ITC faced consolidation pressures over the past year—pacing against strong multi-year gains recorded between 2022 and 2024 when the stock surged as much as 94 percent—this strategic tech-sector investment signals a robust growth pivot for the company's IT services portfolio.