Providence Equity sells 3.47% stake in Idea for Rs 1,383 cr

Private equity firm Providence Equity Partners today offloaded 3.47 per cent stake in telecom operator Idea Cellular for an estimated amount of Rs 1,383 crore through an open market transaction.
According to bulk deal data available with the stock exchanges, Providence sold a total of 12.50 crore shares, or 3.47 per cent stake in Idea through its investment arm P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius).
The shares were offloaded on an average price of Rs 110.65, valuing the transaction at Rs 1,383.12 crore.
Providence, through its investment arm P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius), held 6.80 per cent stake in Idea as of March quarter.

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) PTE picked in 66,679,132 shares of the telecom firm for Rs 736.20 crore.
Following the transaction, shares of Idea plunged by 9.97 per cent to settle at Rs 106.55 apiece on the BSE.

In September 2014, Providence had sold 2.4 per cent stake in Idea for about Rs 1,414 crore via open market route.
Idea is the country's third largest telecom operator with over 16 crore subscribers.
The company's net profit dropped by 39 per cent to Rs 575.6 crore in the quarter ended March 31, 2016. However, the revenue increased by 12.6 per cent to Rs 9,483.85 crore during the period under review.