HDFC shares fall 2% after block deals

About 20 million shares of Housing Development Finance Corp (HDFC), India's top mortgage lender, changed hands in block deals on Wednesday, sending the share price down more than 2%.

The block deals represent about 1.3% of the company's outstanding share capital.

US private equity investor Carlyle Group plans to reduce its stake in HDFC via stock market sales that could raise up to $283 million, Keki Mistry, the chief executive of the Indian mortgage lender said citing market sources on Tuesday.

Carlyle, which currently owns 5.2% of HDFC, will pare its stake in the mortgage lender to nearly 4% after a sale of shares via block deals, sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

The buyers of the shares include domestic as well as foreign investors, Mistry told Reuters.

Shares in HDFC were down 2.2% at Rs 682.60 by 9:30 am in a Mumbai market down 0.5%.