Providence Equity Partners on Tuesday exited telecom firm Idea Cellular by selling its entire 3.33% stake for an estimated Rs1,288 crore through an open market transaction.
The stake sale comes against the backdrop of Idea Cellular being engaged in discussion with rival Vodafone India for a potential merger.
Providence Equity Partners through its investment arm P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius) offloaded 12 crore shares, amounting to 3.33% stake, of Idea Cellular, according to bulk deal data available with the BSE.
The shares were sold at an average price of Rs107.32, valuing the transaction at Rs1,287.84 crore, the data showed.
Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs India Fund Ltd picked up 22,549,517 shares of the telecom firm for Rs241.51 crore.
P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius) had picked up 15% stake in Idea Cellular in 2006 for around Rs1,800 crore and has been gradually offloading stake over the years. Last June, it sold 3.47% in the telecom major for Rs1,383 crore.
Shares of Idea Cellular closed at Rs115.45 apiece on the BSE, 0.74% higher from the previous close.
Source: Mint