Private equity firm Blackstone Group LP reduced its stake in Mphasis Ltd., to create more liquidity in the stock and enable high-quality long-term investors to participate in the Bengaluru-based IT firm's growth story, according to a Bloomberg report.
The U.S. based company said it sold 1.52 crore shares, or eight percent equity, in the BPO service provider via open market block deals at Rs 964.85-969.05 apiece on the National Stock Exchange.
Shares of Mphasis declined 2.8 percent after the block deal but soon recovered to rise 1.2 percent to Rs 1,000 each. The stock has risen 34.8 percent this year so far, compared to the 4.7 percent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex and 16.5 percent jump in the S&P BSE IT Index in the same period.
Majority shareholder Blackstone held 60.38 percent stake via Marble II Pte Ltd. as of March 31, according to exchange data. The company's other shareholders include Aberdeen International, UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd. and ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd.
Blackstone does not currently intend to sell any additional stake in the company, it said in the statement to Bloomberg.
Mphasis posted a 29 percent jump in its profit in the March quarter led by an increase in exceptional items and its digital transformative initiatives, according to the company's statement.
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