Shares of HDFC Ltd. fell in a sluggish market in early morning trade on Wednesday after Carlyle reportedly sold a big chunk of its stake in the housing finance major through a block deal.
HDFC ended at Rs 687.80, down ~Rs 9 or ~1.3% from the last close. It earlier touched a day's low of Rs 676.80 and a day's high of Rs 693. It opened at Rs 690.
Traded quantity on the counter surged to 24.61mn shares on the BSE as against a two-week average of 1.5 lakh shares.
The block deals represent ~1.3% of HDFC's outstanding share capital.
Carlyle Group sold about 20mn HDFC shares through multiple block deals today, CEO Keki Mistry was quoted as saying.
The buyers of the HDFC shares from Carlyle include domestic as well as foreign investors, Mistry said.
Carlyle, which held 5.2% of HDFC before today's block sale, will pare its stake in India's top housing finance company to ~4%.
The US private equity giant could raise up to US$283mn from the sale of its shares in HDFC, according to media reports.