Government raises $314 million from share sale in L&T - IFR

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SINGAPORE (Reuters) - India has raised 21 billion rupees ($314 million) from a stake sale in engineering group Larsen & Toubro Ltd , IFR reported on Friday, citing two sources close to the transaction.

The stake sale is part of the government's plan to raise 565 billion rupees from asset sales during the current fiscal year to March to help contain its fiscal deficit at 3.5 percent of the gross domestic product.

State-owned Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) sold 14.8 million shares, or about 1.59 percent stake from the 8.14 percent it owns in L&T, at 1,415.66 rupees apiece, IFR, a Thomson Reuters publication said.

It aimed to sell as much as 3 percent to raise up to $594 million, according to a deal term sheet seen by Reuters.

This was the first block deal by SUUTI, which owns stakes in companies including Axis Bank and ITC Ltd .

($1 = 66.7150 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by S. Anuradha; Writing by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath)