LIC hikes stake in Infosys; buys shares worth Rs 1,400 cr

State-owned life insurer LIC has shored up its stake in Infosys to 4.45%, purchasing shares that are worth about Rs 1,400 crore in the July- September quarter.

This is the second consecutive quarter of share purchase by LIC in the software services firm.

While the exact date of share purchased by LIC could not be ascertained, Infosys new CEO and Managing Director Vishal Sikka took charge of the company from August.

Life Insurance Corporation of India, the biggest institutional investor in the stock market, which held 3.25% stake in Infosys during the January-March quarter, has increased holding to 4.45% as of September 30, 2014.

During April-June quarter, LIC had 3.71% stake in the country's second largest software services firm.

The state-run firm has been increasing its holding in Infosys since the January-March quarter.

Prior to that LIC had been reducing its stake in the software company since last year. It held 6.72% stake in IT firm at the end of June 30, 2013, as per the latest data available with the stock exchanges.

Taking into account the current market value of Infosys shares, the 0.63% hike in LIC's holding in the company would be worth about Rs 1,400 crore. Infosys shares closed at Rs 3,853.85 on Friday.

Sikka, the first outsider as well as not part of the co-founder's club to lead the Bangalore-based firm, was the head of technology and innovation department at German software giant SAP.

Also, mentor N R Narayana Murthy stepped down in June four years before his tenure was to end. He was brought back to head the IT major in June last year, following quarters of laggard performance. Since Murthy's return, Infosys had seen 11 top-level exits.

Apart from LIC, Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs), too, raised their holding in Infosys to 14.48% during the July-September quarter of 2014 from 14.08% in the preceding three months.

Besides, Foreign Institutional Investors raised their exposure in Infosys to 42.67% from 41.58% during the period.