KPIT Cummins CEO Kishor Patil sells shares worth Rs 31 crore

MUMBAI: Kishor Patil, CEO of midsized IT services firm KPIT Cummins, sold 25 lakh shares in the company, worth Rs 31 crore, according to a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Patil now has a 2.65% stake in the Pune-based firm, down from 3.94% earlier.

Mid-sized IT firms have increasingly been in the spotlight for possible consolidation after Hexaware promoter Atul Nishar and General Atlantic sold their stake to Barings Asia Private Equity in August for about Rs 1,600 crores. Polaris Financial Technologies have also been reportedly considering selling of its IT services business.

Earlier this month, rumours swirled that Tata Consultancy Services – India’s largest IT services company – was looking to acquire a stake in KPIT. KPIT Cummins Group CEO Ravi Pandit dismissed those rumours in media interviews saying there was no merit in them.

KPIT Cummins has said it expects to grow its sales by 14-15% this year, driven by traction in the US and Asia Pacific. The company has been doing well as its main business segment – the automotive sector – has been recovering strongly in the United States. The company reported sales of Rs 613 crores for the quarter ended June 2013.

Shares of KPIT Cummins closed down about 1% at Rs 132.95 on Thursday.