Telecom operator Idea Cellular shares fell 6.5 percent in early trade Tuesday after private equity fund Providence exited the Aditya Birla Group company by selling entire shareholding.
About 12 crore equity shares worth Rs 1,331 crore traded on BSE & NSE at Rs 110.30-110.45 apiece via block deals.
With this block deal, Providence exited Idea by selling its 3.6 percent stake ahead of proposed merger of the company with Vodafone.
The PE firm had picked up 15 percent in 2006 through its investment arm P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius) for around Rs 1,800 crore and has been paring its holding continuously over the years.
The country's third biggest telecom company has been in the news on account of likely merger with rival Vodafone. The stock rallied more than 50 percent since the speculation and a confirmation of talks for a merger with second biggest telecom Vodafone announced on January 30.
At 09:25 hours IST, the stock was quoting at Rs 110.15, down Rs 4.45, or 3.88 percent on the BSE.
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