Bain Capital and BNP Paribas Offload Rs 1,504 Crore Stake in L&T Finance

In a significant move within the financial sector, Bain Capital and BNP Paribas executed a substantial divestiture of their holdings in L&T Finance, a leading non-banking financial company (NBFC) in India. On Thursday, through open market transactions on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the entities sold a combined 3.54 per cent stake in L&T Finance, amounting to a total transaction value of Rs 1,504 crore.

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Details from the BSE reveal that Bain Capital, via its affiliates BC Asia Growth Investments and BC Investments VI Ltd, along with BNP Paribas through its subsidiary BNP Paribas Financial Markets, facilitated this significant share offloading. Specifically, BC Investments VI Ltd disposed of 1.03 crore shares, and BC Asia Growth Investments offloaded over 2 crore shares of L&T Finance. This represented a 1.2 per cent combined stake in the NBFC. Additionally, BNP Paribas sold more than 5.78 crore shares in eight separate tranches, translating to a 2.32 per cent stake in Mumbai-based L&T Finance.

The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 170.6 each, culminating in the total transaction value of Rs 1,504.73 crore. In a related development, Larsen & Toubro Ltd, the promoter of L&T Finance, seized this opportunity to increase its stake in the company by purchasing shares worth Rs 213 crore.

According to the block deal data available with the BSE, L&T Ltd acquired 1.25 crore shares, representing a 0.5 per cent stake in L&T Finance at the same price as the divested shares. This strategic purchase elevated Larsen & Toubro Ltd's stakeholding in L&T Finance from 65.86 per cent to 66.36 per cent.

Furthermore, BNP Paribas Financial Markets engaged in a separate transaction acquiring 83.24 lakh shares of L&T Finance. Notably, several mutual funds and financial institutions including Religare Mutual Fund MF, Axis MF, DSP BlackRock MF, Mirae Asset MF, Morgan Stanley Asia Singapore, and Goldman Sachs Singapore Pte - ODI were also among the buyers of L&T Finance shares.

Following these transactions, shares of L&T Finance witnessed a positive market response, closing at Rs 175.85 per piece on the BSE, marking a 3.08 per cent increase.

In another noteworthy block deal on the National Stock Exchange (NSE), Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius sold shares of InterGlobe Aviation for Rs 224 crore through an open market transaction. InterGlobe Aviation operates India's leading airline under the brand IndiGo. The sale involved 5,21,183 shares at an average price of Rs 4,300.40 each, with Paris-based financial services company Societe Generale being the buyer at the same price point.

The trading day saw InterGlobe Aviation's scrip closing nearly flat at Rs 4,299.95 apiece on the NSE following this transaction.

This series of transactions underscores the dynamic nature of shareholding adjustments within major Indian companies and highlights the active participation of both domestic and international investors in India's financial markets.