Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) on Friday said that it has sold 3.1 crore shares or 4.22 percent stake in Gruh Finance for Rs 899.43 crore. Shares of Gruh Finance slumped 7.5 percent in intraday trade on Friday after the announcement.

"We sold 3.10 crore shares and the sale was carried out through stock exchanges at the prevailing market price. The average price was Rs 290.14 per share," it said in a filing.

The mortgage lender has been gradually reducing its stake in Gruh Finance ahead of Bandhan Bank merger, to meet RBI (Reserve Bank of India) norms. Earlier, HDFC off-loaded 4.47 crore shares, representing 6.10 percent stake. While 1.22 crore shares were off-loaded at the price of Rs 260.07 apiece on 28 March, 3.25 crore shares were sold on 24 May at Rs 310.126 per share.

"The Corporation being a shareholder of Gruh is entitled to 14.96 percent of post-amalgamation paid-up capital of Bandhan, based on the share exchange ratio. However, the RBI has directed the corporation to hold 9.9 percent or less in Bandhan Bank post the merger. The sale reported under the disclosure is a part of the said transaction," HDFC said in its filing in May.

The proposal for amalgamation between Gruh Finance and Bandhan Bank was approved by the RBI in March.

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