Private equity giant Blackstone has sold 4.5 per cent stake in Gokaldas Exports for Rs 10.48 crore ($1.7 million), having lost around 75 per cent or three fourth of the original investment in the process.
It sold 1.5 million shares on Monday at Rs 67.65 each. The shares were acquired by ICICI Bank, as per bulk deal disclosure on the BSE.
This marks the second part exit for the PE giant from one of its slew of private investment in public enterprise (or PIPE) deals in the country.
The PE firm had previously sold 5.6 per cent stake out of its 68.2 per cent holding in June for Rs 16.19 crore through a similar secondary market share sale. At that time it had sold shares for Rs 83.9 a piece.
Blackstone had invested in the company in 2007, just months before the stock market tanked, at Rs 275 a share. This translates into around 75 per cent haircut on its investment.
It had bought majority stake in the company for Rs 485.2 crore and later hiked its holding through an open offer.
Blackstone's remaining 57.8 per cent stake is currently worth Rs 153 crore.
Gokaldas Exports' scrip shot up 13 per cent to close the day at RS 76.5 a share on the BSE in a weak Mumbai market on Monday.
Gokaldas Exports is one among a bunch of PIPE investments of Blackstone which are underwater. Others include NCC, Monnet Ispat, MCX and Financial Technologies.