Standard Life to sell HDFC Life shares worth $621 mn in block deal

Standard Life, the co-promoter of HDFC Life Insurance Co Ltd, is selling a 3.46% stake in the company, worth at least $621 million ( ₹4,606 crore) through a block deal, according to deal terms seen by Mint.

Standard Life (Mauritius Holdings) 2006 Ltd currently owns an 8.88% stake in the life insurance company. Shares are being offered to investors in the price range of Rs658 to Rs678 per share, a discount of 5.5% - 2.6% to the closing price of Rs696 per share on Monday, according to the deal terms.

Investment banks JP Morgan and Bank of America are managing the share sale. Standard Life has been selling down its stake in HDFC Life for a while now. In December, Standard Life sold a 1.37% stake in the company for Rs1,703 crore. Earlier in June 2020, the firm had sold a 2% stake for Rs1,890 crore.

In 2019 too Standard Life pared its stake in HDFC Life through a number of transactions. In October 2019, Standard Life sold 4.96% stake to a clutch of institutional investors at Rs575.15 apiece to mop up Rs5,750 crore, while in August 2019 it sold 3.2% in HDFC Life via block deals and in March 2019 it had divested 4.93% stake in the life insurer to raise about Rs3,600 crore.

HDFC Life went public in 2017 in an IPO where HDFC Ltd and Standard Life had sold shares worth Rs8,695 crore.

Source: Live Mint