homebusiness Newscompanies NewsCoforge Block Deal: Baring PE sells over 27% stake worth Rs 8,043 crore
Coforge Block Deal: Baring PE sells over 27% stake worth Rs 8,043 crore
Promoter Hulst BV (Baring Private Equity Asia) sold its 25.4 percent stake in Coforge Ltd (formerly NIIT Technologies) worth $893 million via a block deal on August 24.
Promoter Hulst BV (Baring Private Equity Asia) sold sold 27.7 percent stake in Coforge Ltd (formerly NIIT Technologies) worth approximately Rs 8,043 crore via a block deal on August 24.
Following the development, the stock was trading nearly five percent higher at Rs 5,128.60 on BSE. The stock also received an upgrade from Jefferies on Thursday. The brokerage upgraded the stock to buy from hold and also raised its price target to Rs 6250 from Rs 4150.
#LargeTrade | 1.54 cr shares (25.4% equity) of Coforge worth Rs 7,329.3 cr change hands in a block deal https://t.co/31af9kYV59 pic.twitter.com/5AuUKcLDB6
— CNBC-TV18 (@CNBCTV18Live) August 24, 2023
After the deal, Jean Salata, Head of Baring Private Equity Asia - EQT and Chairperson of EQT Asia, told CNBC-TV18 that Coforge revenue and profits have doubled in size since his firm bought stake four years ago. He added that CEO Sudhir Singh has done an extraordinary job.
"The future of the business is also extremely bright. It's just that our business model is one where we invest in companies, we help them to grow, reposition and transform, and then hopefully the next owners of the business can continue to grow further," he said.
Talking about the block deal, he said more than 50 investors participated. "Our initial book was more than three times subscribed, which is reflected in the price. So we're really excited to see Coforge in the next phase of the journey with these investors."
The Netherlands-registered Hulst BV is owned and controlled by funds affiliated with BPEA (Baring Private Equity Asia).
Sandip Agarwal of Sowilo Investment Managers told CNBC-TV18 that Coforge will now become another professional run company without management. He added that it is a merit-based business, which is secured.
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Back in May this year, Hulst BV divested a 3.5 percent stake in the firm for Rs 887 crore through an open market transaction. According to the bulk deal data available with the BSE, Hulst BV offloaded 21.50 lakh shares, amounting to a 3.5 percent stake in the firm.
The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 4,125.44 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 886.96 crore. In February this year, Hulst BV offloaded a 9.8 percent stake in IT company Coforge.
(Edited by : Shoma Bhattacharjee)
First Published: Aug 23, 2023 6:12 PM IST
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