1.At a Glance

Elcid Investments Ltd — the company where every shareholder is either a Vakil, a legend, or a lost retail investor waiting for justice since the Asian Paints partition of 1942. As ofQ2 FY26 (Sep 2025), this sleepy NBFC, with a market cap of ₹2,520 crore and a stock price of ₹1,26,000, still holds its most glittering asset — a4.2% stake in Asian Paints, valued at a jaw-dropping₹12,664 crore.Yes, you read that right: ₹12,664 crore in value, wrapped inside a ₹2,520 crore market cap. If this isn’t a Bollywood-level identity crisis, what is?

The stock trades at just0.27x its book value (₹4,65,496)andP/E of 33.2x, while deliveringPAT of ₹31.7 crore on sales of ₹44 crorein the latest quarter. The OPM? An absurdly rich94%, because when your only expense is existing, margins tend to behave like Warren Buffett’s smile — stable and smug.

Oh, and in case you missed the meme-worthy moment —BSE finally relisted Elcid in October 2024through a “special call auction” at ₹2.36 lakh per share. Investors who had once screamed “price discovery” finally got their moment. Now, a year later, the price has cooled, the hype has faded, but the absurdity remains immortal.

2.Introduction

Imagine an investment company so secretive, so ancient, that it feels like a treasure chest locked inside an RBI vault. That’s Elcid Investments Ltd — the quiet custodian of old Asian Paints money and the unsung legend of the Vakil family.

Once upon a time, in 1942, four friends built Asian Paints — and decades later, one of them, Arvind Vakil, built Elcid as the family’s fortress of wealth. Fast forward to 2025, and Elcid is basically a holding company masquerading as an NBFC. It doesn’t sell loans. It doesn’t chase fintech dreams. It simplysits on shares of Asian Paints like a yogi sits on enlightenment.

For years, its story has been financial folklore — a public company with only40,750 shares, trading at ₹15 while owning assets worth lakhs per share. Investors begged SEBI for price discovery; courts got involved; everyone waited for the “Elcid call auction” — the grand ceremony that finally came in October 2024 when BSE relisted it at ₹2.36 lakh. The internet went nuts.

But here’s the twist — the stock’s now down~47%from that auction peak. The NBFC’s book is richer than most midcaps, but itsROE of 1.47%makes even a bank FD look adventurous. The company is almost debt-free, owns shares of one of India’s most profitable giants, but refuses to show any hustle. It’s like owning a Rolls Royce and using it as a bookshelf.

3.Business Model – WTF Do They Even Do?

Let’s be real: Elcid Investments doesn’tdomuch. It’s an RBI-registered NBFC under theInvestment Companycategory. That’s fancy talk for “we don’t lend, we just hold shares.”

Through its two wholly-owned subsidiaries —Murahar Investments & Trading Co LtdandSuptaswar Investments & Trading Co Ltd— Elcid indirectly holds shares inAsian Paints (0.60% and 0.68% respectively), while itself owning about2.9% directly. Put together, that’s roughly4.2% of Asian Paints, which makes it one of the most valuable holding companies in India per square inch of paperwork.

Revenue for Elcid comes from two main sources:

1. Dividend incomefrom its Asian Paints stake.
2. Capital gains, occasionally recognized when they shuffle holdings.

Operating expenses are microscopic — sometimes less than ₹1 crore per quarter — making theOperating Margin (OPM) a hilarious 94%. It’s like a restaurant that sells only water but reports Michelin-star margins.

So yes, technically it’s an NBFC, but spiritually, it’s a museum of wealth.

4.Financials Overview

Annualised EPS = ₹1,587 × 4 =₹6,348At CMP ₹1,26,000,P/E = 19.8x (recalculated)

Commentary:Elcid’s income swings are like a soap opera of dividends — Asian Paints declares a dividend, Elcid smiles. No dividend, and the quarterly PAT collapses like a midcap IPO. TheYoY fall of 27% in PATsimply reflects timing of dividend recognition. For a company whose cost is ₹1 and income is ₹100, every accounting quarter is either “peace” or “boom.”

5.Valuation Discussion – Fair Value Range

Let’s talk math, not