BSE offloads 4.54% stake in CDSL at discount for regulatory compliance

Exchanges allowed to hold only 15% in depositories; BSE held nearly 20% in CDSL at the end of March qtr

BSE on Wednesday sold 4.54 per cent stake in Central Depository Services (CDSL) to comply with the regulatory requirement.

It sold a little over 528,000 shares at Rs 986 apiece to  mop up Rs 468 crore.

The sale was done at a discount of 5.8 per cent to the previous day’s closing. ICICI Prudential Tech Fund was among the buyers.

According to the norms laid down by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), a stock exchange is allowed to hold only 15 per cent shareholding in a depository.  

At the end of March 2023 quarter, BSE held close to 20 per cent stake in CDSL.

Shares of CDSL settled at Rs 1,018, with a loss of 2.86 per cent after recovering from a near 5 per cent intraday fall. On the other hand, shares of BSE gained 1.33 per cent.  

CDSL is the only listed depository in India and services over 80 million demat account holders.