Warburg Pincus is offloading its stake in three portfolio companies, selling total shares worth over ₹5,000 crore this week, taking advantage of the window provided after the state assembly election run-up in equity markets.
After exiting Computer Age Management Services Ltd (CAMS) in a large ₹2,700 crore block sale, the US private equity giant is set to sell its stakes in Bharti Airtel and IDFC First Bank.Warburg Pincus is set to raise $211 million in telecom major Bharti Airtel in a block deal, offering 17.5 million shares at a floor price of Rs 1,005 apiece, as per Bloomberg.
The PE firm-owned Cloverdell Investment is also likely to sell a 1.3% stake in IDFC First Bank through a block deal for $100 million at ₹85.7 per share, sources told CNBC-TV18.Cloverdell Investment currently holds a 2.74% stake in IDFC First Bank, and after the 1.3% stake sale, it will be left with a 1.44% holding.
Earlier on Tuesday, Great Terrain Investment Ltd, an affiliate of Warburg Pincus, sold its entire 19.8% stake for ₹2,700 crore via a block trade.The promoter entity of CAMS offloaded 97.5 lakh shares of the company at ₹2,766.47 apiece, according to data from the BSE. Great Terrain Investment reportedly made a four-fold profit at exit.”The promoter entity (Great Terrain Investment Ltd) had acquired the stake in 2018 at an average weighted cost of Rs 717.80 per share,” a media report said.Meanwhile, equity benchmarks Sensex and Nifty rallied for the seventh straight session to hit fresh lifetime highs on Wednesday, driven by gains in index majors Reliance Industries, ITC, and L&T amid sustained foreign fund inflows.The benchmark 30-share BSE Sensex surged 357.59 points, or 0.52%, to settle at a new record of 69,653.73. It rose to 69,744.62 during intra-day. The broader 50-share index Nifty also climbed 82.60 points, or 0.40%, to hit its fresh peak of 20,937.70.—With inputs from Vivek Iyer and Abhishek Kothari
