IDFC First Bank Shares Fall After Reports Claim Warburg Pincus May Sell 1.3% Stake, M Balakrishnan Resigns

The share price of IDFC First Bank will remain on investors' radar on Thursday after news reports highlighted that Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus is considering selling up to 1.3% stake in the private sector lender worth $ 100 million via block deals on Thursday.

Today, IDFC First Bank shares were spotted trading 3.23% lower at Rs 87.50 per share at 9:32 am IST. In the early morning trade, the company's shares saw a spurt in volume by more than 37.86 times.

In an exchange filing, the private sector today informed that Madhivanan Balakrishnan, Executive Director and Key Managerial Personnel of IDFC FIRST Bank Limited ("Bank"), has tendered his resignation on December 06, 2023. The stock has a 52 Wk High and 52 Wk low of 100.74 and 52.11 respectively.

Warburg Pincus, through its affiliate Cloverdell Investment, is expected to sell a 1.3% stake in IDFC First Bank, and the floor price for the same has been fixed at Rs 85.7 per share. The floor price is 5.2% lower compared to the stock's last closing price.

In September, the private equity firm had offloaded a 4.2% stake in IDFC First Bank for Rs 2,480 crore via block deals. In the same month, Rajiv Jain-owned GQG Partners had acquired a 2.6% stake in the lender for Rs 1,527 crore.

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have been increasing their holdings in the bank continuously for the last three quarters. As of September end, FPIs cumulatively held 26.06% stake against 19.31% as of March end.

IDFC First Bank Stock Price Performance:

On Wednesday, IDFC First Bank's stock price closed 1.3% higher at Rs 90.40 per share on the NSE. As of September end, the global private equity firm owned a 4.04% stake in the lender via its subsidiaries Cloverdell Investment and Dayside Investment.

The year-to-date (YTD) performance of the share price of IDFC First Bank is 43.70%, while the stock has gained almost 48% in the last one year. The last 2-year and 3-year returns from the stock have increased 83.68% and 138.91% respectively.

Meanwhile, reports have also suggested that Warburg Pincus is mulling to raise $211 million in telecom giant Bharti Airtel Ltd in a block deal. Warburg Pincus is also reportedly considering selling 17.5 million shares at Rs 1,005 per piece.