HCL denies report of founder Shiv Nadar seeking buyer for $10 bn stake

MUMBAI: Shiv Nadar-led HCL Corporation, the firm that controls HCL Technologies and former PC maker HCL Infosystems, on Friday denied a Wall Street Journal report that said its promoter was seeking potential buyers for his $10-billion stake in the company. “HCL Corporation denies any plans to exit HCL Technologies,” it said in a statement to the BSE.

The report further stated that Nadar is open to selling his stake because his only child, daughter Roshni Nadar, isn’t interested in continuing in technology business.

Roshni Nadar, 32, a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, sits on the HCL Technologies board, and is the chief executive of its holding company HCL Corp.

Reacting to reports of sale of HCL Technologies, its scrip rose 2.92 per cent, or Rs 43.65, to Rs 1,538 on the BSE.


In fact, the stock price has more than doubled to Rs 1,538 in the past year on BSE, data showed. Billionaire founder Shiv Nadar owns roughly 62 per cent stake in HCL Technologies, India’s No. 4 software services exporter, through group companies.

According to analysts, HCL Technologies has been performing consistently in the past few quarters and even beat market estimates in the October-December 2013 quarter to post impressive results. “I’d suggest hold on to the stock because it’s still relatively cheaper than companies like TCS, and secondly, as I have been saying that India is going to face problems in case election results are not up to our expectations.

There’s going to be a lot of pressure on the currency, so till the elections are out, all investors should hold on to IT stocks including HCL Tech,” said G Chokkalingam, founder, Equinomics Research & Advisory. The company reported a 58.4 per cent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 1,496 crore for the second quarter ended December 31, 2013, againstRs 944 crore in the year-ago period.

Consolidated revenues grew by 30.4 per cent at Rs 8,184 crore in the October-December quarter of this fiscal against Rs 6,278 crore in the same quarter of the previous fiscal.

Founded in 1991, HCL Technologies provides IT and engineering services expertise covering financial services, manufacturing, consumer services, public services and healthcare, among others.

With a turnover of $5 billion, the firm has global offshore infrastructure and network of offices in 31 countries and employs over 88,000 people.