Warburg Pincus sheds stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank

Private equity investor Warburg Pincus LLC has sold 3.6 per cent of its remaining stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank. The exit took place through bulk deals on the exchanges. Reports say that the investor sold shares for Rs 1,400 crore through this deal.

The deal took place through the PE investor's entities — Melany Holdings and Madison Holdings. According to the data filed on the BSE, Warburg Pincus' entities sold the remaining 26.5 million of their shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank at Rs 530 a share.

Shares of Kotak Mahindra Bank closed at Rs 530, up 1.18 per cent on the BSE.

Major buyers were — The Genesis Group Trust For Employee Benefit Plan which bought around 6.6 million shares and The Genesis Emerging Markets Investment Company which bought 7.07 million shares.

In February, the PE investor part-exited Kotak Mahindra Bank by selling 17.5 million shares (around 2.37 per cent stake), for about Rs 850 crore. At the end of December, Warburg Pincus held 44 million shares (5.98 per cent stake) in the bank.

The PE firm first invested in the bank in 2004. It initially held 2.24 per cent stake in the bank which it bought for around Rs 75 crore. In 2005, it increased its stake to about 10 per cent in Kotak Mahindra Bank.

In March 2011, Warburg Pincus LLC held around 9.28 per cent stake in the bank. The private equity investor then sold a stake of about 2.28 per cent in the bank in June-July period. In October last year, the investor again sold about one per cent stake in the bank.

Warburg Pincus LLC exited several of its investments in DB Corp, Max Healthcare, Vaibhav Gems, etc, in 2011.

priya.s@thehindu.co.in