British banking major
HSBC on Thursday offloaded its entire shareholdings in Axis Bank and Yes Bank for about Rs 2,425 crore through open market transactions.
HSBC, which held 1.96 crore shares, or 4.75 per cent in
Axis Bank through HSBC IRIS Investments Mauritius Ltd, sold the entire stake for about Rs 1,880 crore.
The stake-sale happened at an average price of Rs 958.43 per share, according to bulk data available with the stock exchanges.
The UK-based entity also divested its entire shareholding in another private sector lender
Yes Bank for about Rs 545 crore.
It had 4.76 per cent stake amounting to 1.67 crore shares in Yes Bank through Mauritius-based entity HSBC IRIS Investments Mauritius Ltd. At the current market price, the entire stake is valued at around Rs 550 crore.
However, the buyers of these stakes could not be ascertained immediately.
The transaction was part of its global strategy to divest stakes in banks and other companies in which it holds stake.
Shares of Axis Bank on Thursday closed at Rs 971 apiece on the BSE, down 2.98 per cent from the previous close. Yes Bank shares closed at Rs 332.20, down 0.73 per cent.
In December 2003, HSBC had bought about 20 per cent in Axis Bank (then UTI Bank) from private equity major CDC. The government indirectly owns about 23 per cent stake in Axis Bank through a public sector insurance companies.
The British bank had bought the stake in Yes Bank in 2008.
In April, the Netherlands-based Rabobank sold about 3.4 per cent stake in Yes Bank for about Rs 453 crore. Rabobank sold 1.26 crore shares for Rs 357.03 a piece through an open market transactions.
Of this, Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance picked up 25.2 lakh shares, while Citigroup Global Markets Mauritius picked up 22 lakh shares at Rs 357 per unit, according to the BSE data.
Rabobank owned about 1.67 crore shares or 4.73 per cent stake in Yes Bank at the end of March 31, 2012.
In 2010, Rabobank had sold about 11 per cent in Yes Bank and had thus reduced its stake in Yes Bank from around 15.9 per cent to 4.9 per cent. Rabobank has been reducing its stake in Yes Bank as it plans to enter banking space on its own in the country.
Earlier this year, Citigroup sold its stake in housing finance major HDFC for nearly Rs 10,000 crore, while US private equity major Warburg Pincus offloaded its stake in Kotak Mahindra Bank for about Rs 1,350 crore ($274 million).
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