Blackstone likely to sell Sona BLW shares worth nearly Rs 4,000 crore

Blackstone likely to sell Sona BLW shares worth nearly Rs 4,000 crore

Blackstone Inc. is seeking to raise as much as 31.8 billion rupees ($400 million) through the sale of shares in Indian automotive component maker Sona Comstar, according to terms of the deal seen by Bloomberg News. An affiliate of the US firm is offering the shares in Sona BLW Precision Forgings Ltd., as it is formally known, at 500 rupees each, the terms show. That’s a 7.2% discount to Wednesday’s closing price.

If there’s enough investor demand, Blackstone could increase the deal size to 39.7 billion rupees, according to the terms.The Indian unit of Nomura Holdings Inc. is the sole placement agent of the deal. Books are set to close Thursday. The Blackstone-controlled entity held a 34.1% stake in Sona as of June, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Sona’s initial public offering in June last year raised about $776 million for the company and its shareholders, in a deal that saw more than twice as many subscriptions as there were available shares. The IPO included a sale of new shares worth 3 billion rupees, while Blackstone divested a portion of its stake. The company’s shares have rallied about 85% since their debut.