Mphasis shares fall today after 1.8 crore shares sold in block deals; Blackstone seen as likely seller

Shares of Mphasis Ltd fell more than 1 percent on Tuesday after a large block deal involving 1.8 crore shares -- about 9.5 percent of the company’s total equity -- changed hands on the BSE. Promoter Blackstone is believed to be the seller. Mphasis stock was down 1.3 percent at Rs 2,654 around 10.30 am, even as the counter saw a sharp spike in volumes following the transaction. The stock has declined about 7 percent so far this year.

According to a CNBC TV18 news report, the seller is likely to be Mphasis promoter Blackstone, acting through its entity BCP Topco IX Pte. Ltd., which held a 40.1 percent stake in the IT services company as of the September quarter. The block deal is expected to have been executed at a floor price of Rs 2,570 per share -- a 4.4 percent discount to Monday’s closing price -- valuing the sale at roughly Rs 4,626 crore. A 180-day lock-in on further stake sales by the seller will apply. Citigroup is the merchant banker to the transaction.

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If confirmed, today’s deal would mark another major tranche of stake sale by Blackstone. In June last year, the private equity firm sold around 15.6 percent of Mphasis for nearly Rs 7,066 crore. Blackstone has been a majority shareholder since 2016 and had invested $2.8 billion in 2021 to acquire a controlling stake.

Mphasis, which has strong capabilities in cloud and digital solutions and deep domain strength in the BFSI sector, currently commands a market capitalisation of about Rs 50,525 crore. The stock trades at a P/E multiple of 28.36 and carries a dividend yield of 2.15 percent.

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