New Delhi, Oct. 8 -- GQG Partners sold a 2.91 per cent stake in FMCG major ITC for Rs 9,395 crore through separate block deals on Thursday, as the US-based boutique investment firm keeps paring down its holdings in Indian firms.
GQG Partners, through its fund, offloaded 36,50,84,221 shares in 14 tranches, representing a 2.91 per cent stake in Kolkata-based ITC, as per data on the BSE.
The shares were disposed of at an average price of Rs 257.35 apiece, taking the deal value to Rs 9,395.44 crore. In addition, Alliance Witan, one of the UK's oldest and largest investment trusts, sold another 16.11 lakh shares of ITC for Rs 41.46 crore.
At the June quarter end, GQG, through its fund, held a 1.06 per cent stake in ITC, while Goldman Sachs Trust II - Goldman Sachs GQG Partners International Opportunities Fund owned a 2.06 per cent holding in the company, as per shareholding data on the BSE.
GQG Partners on behalf of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, manages Goldman Sachs GQG Partners International Opportunities Fund.
Meanwhile, a clutch of domestic and foreign institutional investors acquired an equal number of shares at the same price.
US-based Fidelity International, through its arm, emerged as the largest buyer, picking up a total of 13.4 crore shares, amounting to nearly a 1.07 per cent stake in ITC for Rs 3,448.49 crore.
Mutual Funds managed by SBI, Kotak Mahindra, Mirae Asset, Aditya Birla Sun Life, Nippon India, ICICI Prudential and Edelweiss, along with ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company and Bajaj Life, also participated in the transaction.
Other foreign buyers included US-based Ghisallo Capital Management, BNP Paribas, Citigroup Global Markets Singapore, and Morgan Stanley.
Shares of ITC fell more than 4 per cent to close at Rs 254.05 apiece on the BSE. The ITC sale adds to a string of stake sales by GQG this year. During the June quarter, it sold more than Rs 12,000 crore worth of holdings across Adani Group companies.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.