Govt to Raise Nearly Rs 4,000 crore via SUUTI Stake Sale

The Specified Undertaking of the Unit Trust of India (SUUTI) said that it plans to sell at least 3.6 crore shares of Axis Bank, which represents 1.21% stake in the private sector lender as on March 31, 2021.

The state-owned undertaking may also choose to sell an additional 2.2 crore equity shares in Axis Bank, representing 0.4% of the total paid up equity share capital of the lender, according to the regulatory filing.

The share sale will take place through the Offer For Sale (OFS) route on May 19 and May 20. “The floor price for the offer shall be ₹680 per equity share,” according to the regulatory filing. The offer will open for non-retail investors on May 19. For retail investors, the issue will open on May 20.

The transaction could fetch at least ₹2,448 crore. If SUUTI sells additional 2.2 crore share, the total amount could go up to a total of ₹3,944 crore. ICICI Securities, Citigroup Global Markets India and Morgan Stanley India are the main brokers on behalf of SUUTI.

SUUTI held 10.31 crore shares amounting to 3.45% stake in the lender as of March 31, 2021.

In in December 2020, the Union government sold nearly one crore shares of Axis Bank worth around Rs 600 crore through SUUTI. It sold 61.43 lakh shares of private sector lender. SUUTI offloaded 36,25,075 shares of Axis Bank between November 26-27 in 2020.

Axis Bank posted a net profit of Rs 2,677 crore for the quarter ended March 2021 following a sharp decline in bad loan provisions. Its deposits grew by 10% on period-end basis and by 9% year-on-year on a quarterly average balance (QAB) basis. The bank’s loan-to-deposit ratio stood at 88% while retail loans grew 10% year-on-year. Domestic retail loans grew 11% year-on-year.

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