KKR, CPPIB Sell Indus Towers Shares for Rs 3,978 Crore

New Delhi, Feb 1 (PTI) Private equity major KKR, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) and another entity sold Indus Towers' shares worth Rs 3,978 crore through open market transactions on Thursday.

KKR through its arm Silverview Portfolio Investments Pte offloaded shares of telecom infrastructure major Indus Towers on the BSE.

As per the bulk deal data, Silverview Portfolio Investments sold 13.08 crore shares of Indus Towers, while CPPIB disposed of more than 5.76 crore shares of the company, amounting to a 4.85 per cent and 2.14 per cent stake, respectively, in Indus Towers.

Patronus Tradetech LLP also offloaded 2.26 lakh shares of telecom infrastructure company, as per the bulk deal data.

The shares were sold within the price range of Rs 210.21-215.28 apiece, taking the transaction size to about Rs 3,977.94 crore.

After the latest transaction, KKR through Silverview Portfolio Investments Pte sold its entire 4.85 per cent equity stake and exited the company, while shareholding of Canadian Pension Fund CPPIB declined from 2.19 per cent to 0.05 per cent stake in Indus Towers.

Meanwhile, Patronus Tradetech LLP picked up nearly 1.50 crore shares at an average price of Rs 212.24.

This took the deal value to Rs 318.14 crore.

On Jan 23, Indus Towers posted a consolidated profit after tax of Rs 1,541 crore for the December quarter.

The company had posted a net loss of Rs 708 crore in the year-ago period.

Its consolidated revenue grew 6 per cent in the third quarter of the ongoing fiscal to Rs 7,199 crore from Rs 6,765 crore a year ago.

The scrip of Indus Towers fell 1.35 per cent to close at Rs 219 apiece on the BSE.

In March 2017, telecom operator Bharti Airtel sold a 10.3 per cent stake in its mobile tower arm Bharti Infratel (now known as Indus Towers) to a consortium of KKR and CPPIB for Rs 6,193.9 crore.