Partners Group prunes its stake in Aavas Financiers

Global private markets investment manager Partners Group on Friday sold ~837.4 crore worth of shares of mortgage financier Aavas Financiers through open market transactions, data from stock exchanges show.

The stock slid 3.7 per cent on the BSE Sensex to end at ~2,385 on Friday and is down 10.1 per cent since August 17.

The bulk deal data showed that Partners Group ESCL sold 2,372,060 shares or 3.02 per cent of the equity at an average price of ~2,454, valuing the deal at ~582 crore. Partners Group Equity Master Fund sold 1,040,976 shares or 1.33 per cent in the company at the same price at a value of ~255.4 crore.

Major buyers on Friday included the Government of Singapore, which bought a 0.98 per cent stake valued at ~189.1 crore, and HDFC Mutual Fund, which purchased 0.54 per cent of the company at ~104.2 crore. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Avendus, HDFC Standard Life Insurance, and Monetary Authority of Singapore were the other major buyers who bought shares totalling ~313.3 crore.

The company’s net profit for the quarter ended June rose 18.2 per cent to ~59.05 crore compared with ~49.97 crore during the same period last year. Sales rose to ~271.9 crore in Q1, up 16.5 per cent over the yearago period.

In February, Lake District Holdings, an entity owned by homegrown private equity firm Kedaara Capital, another promoter of Aavas Financiers, had sold 36.67 million shares or 4.67 per cent of the total holdings for ~666 crore according to reports.