Arpwood Partners Exits SBFC Finance with Rs 494 Crore Stake Sale

In a significant move within the financial sector, Arpwood Partners has offloaded its entire 5.2% stake in SBFC Finance, a prominent non-banking financial company (NBFC), for a substantial sum of Rs 494 crore. This transaction was carried out through open market operations on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday. The divestment involved Arpwood Partners Investment Advisors LLP and Arpwood Capital Pvt Ltd, both affiliates of Arpwood Partners, executing separate bulk deals.

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According to the data available from the NSE, Arpwood Partners Investment Advisors parted with over 4.51 crore shares, while Arpwood Capital sold around 1.10 crore shares of SBFC Finance. These transactions represented a 4.2% and 1.03% stake in the company, respectively. The shares were sold at a price range between Rs 88.03 and Rs 88 per share, culminating in a total transaction value of Rs 494 crore.

On the buying side of these transactions, notable entities such as Custody Bank of Japan Ltd RE RB Amundi India Small Cap Equity Mother Fund, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore Pte, and SBI Mutual Fund stepped in. They collectively acquired 3.75 crore shares of SBFC Finance at an average price of Rs 88 per share, leading to a combined deal value of Rs 330.49 crore.

Following these transactions, SBFC Finance's shares experienced a downturn, closing at Rs 87 apiece on the NSE, marking a decline of 5.07%. In parallel developments within the market, ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF) engaged in a separate transaction on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), purchasing shares of Nirlon worth Rs 145 crore through open market operations.

Detailed block deal data from the BSE revealed that ICICI Prudential MF acquired approximately 33.78 lakh shares of Nirlon across four tranches at an average price of Rs 430 per share, totaling a deal value of Rs 145.28 crore. Concurrently, Albula Investment Fund and Lotus Global Investments offloaded a combined total of 33.78 lakh shares of Nirlon at the same price.

The trading day also saw Nirlon's shares making gains on the BSE, with a closing price of Rs 441.50 apiece, reflecting an increase of 2.10%. These transactions underscore the dynamic nature of India's financial markets and highlight significant shifts in investment patterns among leading financial institutions and mutual funds.