Citi pockets Rs 175 crore from Polaris stake sale

Citi has made nearly Rs 175 crore in the last few months by shedding over 10% of its stake in mid-tier company Polaris Software Lab.

On Friday, Citi did yet another round of selling in the open market through OrbiTech. In the last few months, OrbiTech, an entity controlled by Citi has sold off over 10% of its holding in the company.

According to bulk deal trade data on the NSE, OrbiTech sold 13.1 lakh shares at Rs 184.26 apiece on Friday, bringing its stake down by 1.3%. As of June 30, 2009, Citi held a 43.33% stake in Chennai-based Polaris but after a series of open market selling in the last few months, that stake is down to about 32%. However, the identity of the buyer is not known.

Taking the average selling price at Rs 155, would mean that Citi’s 11.3% stake sale in the last few months has fetched nearly Rs 175 crore.

Citi holds a stake in Polaris through two entities - OrbiTech and Citibank A/C OrbiTech Ltd. Apart from these, there is also an entity called OrbiTech Employees Welfare Trust, which has a 1.41% stake in Polaris.

Polaris CFO and executive vice-president R Srikanth said that Citi’s selling spree is a positive sign, as it means more buyer interest and investor diversification for the company.

“The stake of FIIs, Mutual Funds and banks has gone up from 7% to 18% in the last few months as a result of these transactions. Its good that there is so much of interest in the Polaris counter,” Mr Srikanth said.