SBI Life Insurance falls 6% on BNP Paribas stake sale

SBI Life Insurance shares slipped 6 per cent to Rs 577 on the BSE in early morning trade on reports that BNP Paribas Cardif had sold its stake in the company through the open market.

At 09:15 am, around 52.23 million shares, representing 5.2 per cent of total equity, of SBI Life Insurance changed hands on the counter on the BSE at the price of Rs 582 via block deals, BSE data shows.

The name of the buyers and sellers not ascertained immediately.

Post-transaction, BNP Paribas Cardif's stake in SBI Life Insurance is likely to decline to 7.57 per cent from 12.77 per cent as on March 1, 2019.

Earlier, on March 1, BNP Paribas Cardif, the joint venture partner in SBI Life Insurance, had sold 9.2 per cent of its stake in the life insurance company for Rs 4,751 crore at the price of Rs 515 per share.

Of the 9.2 per cent stake sold by BNP Paribas Cardif SA, CA Emerald Investments, a part of investment firm Carlyle Group, acquired a 9 per cent stake in SBI Life Insurance in the open market through stock exchanges. The equity for this investment of the Carlyle Group came from CA Emerald Investments.

At 09:38 am, SBI Life Insurance was trading 5.4 per cent lower at Rs 584 on the BSE, as compared to 0.19 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex.