Indian govt to sell 1.55% stake in Axis Bank via offer for sale: SUUTI

Floor price for the offer is 830.63 rupees per share, it added. The offer will be concluded over Thursday and Friday, with non-retail investors bidding on first day and retail investors on second day

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India is to sell a 1.55% stake in Axis Bank through an offer for sale, a government investment vehicle, the Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India, said on Wednesday.

SUUTI will sell 46.5 million shares in Axis Bank representing 1.55% of its equity, it said.

The floor price for the offer is 830.63 rupees per share, it added. The offer will be concluded over Thursday and Friday, with non-retail investors bidding on the first day and retail investors on the second day.

Axis Bank shares closed on Wednesday at 874.35 rupees per share. The news came after market close.

Based on shareholding data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange, SUUTI held a 1.55% stake in the bank, suggesting it will completely exit this via the offer for sale.

The shareholding was transferred to the investment vehicle in 2003 when a scheme of the Unit Trust of India failed and was bailed out.

At the time, the fund held investments in more than 40 companies. It has slowly been exiting these since then.

 

(Reporting by Ira Dugal in Mumbai. Editing by Jane Merriman)