Abrdn to exit HDFC AMC, may garner Rs 4,700 crore

Abrdn to exit HDFC AMC, may garner Rs 4,700 crore

Abrdn Investment Management (formerly Standard Life Investments), one of the sponsors of HDFC Asset Management, plans to offload its entire 10.2% stake in the mutual fund house. The other sponsor is HDFC, which holds a 52.59% stake.

The investment manager intends to place up to 21.11 million shares, totalling 9.9% holding, with a single buyer and the rest separately, according to an exchange filing on Tuesday. The stake sale is subject to applicable regulatory provisions.

Also Read| Punjab & Sind Bank, Bank of Baroda among 115 BSE stocks to hit 52-week highs, 9 fall to 52-week lows

At current prices, the stake sale could fetch Abrdn Investment Management about `4,700 crore. Shares of the AMC have slid 11.2% in the year to date to `2,190 apiece.

In August, Abrdn Investment Management had divested 5.58% in HDFC AMC for a little over `2,300 crore through an open market transaction, according to reports. The shares were divested at `1,935.63 apiece.

Abrdn Investment Management held 16.21% in the AMC as of June 2022. In September 2021, the investment manager had divested 5% in the AMC through the open market.

In August, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) had granted in-principle approval for change in control of HDFC AMC along with change in one of the co-sponsors of HDFC Mutual Fund from HDFC Ltd to HDFC Bank. The change in control would happen post the merger of HDFC with HDFC Bank.

Also read: Share Market LIVE: Sensex falls 300 pts, Nifty below 18600, Bank Nifty in red; Infosys, ICICI Bank lead losses

HDFC AMC had tapped the market for an initial public offering in 2018 and was the second AMC to list on the bourses after Nippon India AMC.

In the past few years, several foreign sponsors, including JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, ING, Fidelity and BlackRock, have exited the mutual fund business in India.