ICICI Venture Funds Management, the investment arm of the Indian banking group of the same name, and Baring Private Equity Asia have begun talks to sell their collective stake of almost 31.0 per cent in Karvy Stock Broking, said Wall Street Journal affiliate LiveMint.
The two bought the interest for INR 4.40 billion (USD 78.70 million) in 2007, according to the Zephyr database.
Citing three people with direct knowledge of the situation, LiveMint said investment bankers have launched negotiations for a potential sale of the holding.
A person from one of the companies approached as a prospective buyer told the website that investment bank ICICI Securities has held discussions with a number of possible bidders over the last few weeks.
Based in Hyderabad, Karvy Stock Broking is part of the financial services group of the same name.
It offers a range of services including currency derivatives, depository operations, wealth management and advice to private clients.
In 2007, ICICI Ventures and Baring Private Equity acquired a minority shareholding in the business in a two-step process.
They first bought the 20.0 per cent interest held by Pacific Century Group, and then subscribed for new shares in the firm to increase their stake to 32.0 per cent.
The Karvy group was formed by five chartered accountants in 1979, and subsequently became Karvy Consultants in 1983.
This business was later spun off to form a separate registry joint venture with Australia’s Computershare in 2005, and has become India’s largest registrar and transfer agent, according its website.
The stock broking arm is one of the country’s top five, and a member of both the National Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange.
Karvy has 575 offices throughout 375 locations across India, as well as a presence in Dubai and New York, and the group employs over 9,000 people.
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