Tech Mahindra surges nearly 4% as BT sells stake

MUMBAI: Shares of IT firm Tech Mahindra on Wednesday rose by nearly 4 per cent after British telecom giant BT offloaded 9.1 per cent stake in the company for Rs 1,011.4 crore.

Following the news, shares of the company surged 6 per cent during the day and finally ended at Rs 910.80, up 3.69 per cent on the BSE.

At NSE, the scrip closed 3.75 per cent higher at Rs 912.50.

"Despite the sell-off, BT has assured it will retain Tech Mahindra as a key IT vendor. The stock jumped a bit signifying increased investor interest," Vikas Jain, MD, Aditya Trading Solutions, said.

"BT (British Telecom) has completed the sale of its remaining 9.1 per cent shareholding (11.6 million shares) in Tech Mahindra to institutional investors for total gross cash proceeds of Rs 1,011.4 crore (GBP 115.7 million) at Rs 871 per share," BT said in a statement today.

BT had set up the technology outsourcing firm in joint venture with Mahindra & Mahindra in 1986. The British company had around 30 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra initially.

In August 2012, BT sold 14.1 per cent stake in Tech Mahindra to institutional investors for about Rs 1,395 crore.

Following this sale, the British company, which had 9.1 per cent shareholding in Tech Mahindra that time, had said that it might consider further sales in future.