Temasek continues selling spree in CarTrade, sheds about 2% stake
This marks the third sell-off by the Singapore-based investment firm as shares of the car marketplace soars.
Singapore state-owned investment firm Temasek has sold 92,000 shares in car marketplace CarTrade in open market transactions on March 17, according to a BSE filing posted by the company.
The transaction was executed through Temasek’s wholly-owned subsidiary, MacRitchie Investments—an early backer of the Mumbai-based company.
Shares of CarTrade closed at Rs 1,600.85 on Monday indicating that the firm would have pocketed Rs 14.73 crore from the sale.
This is the third offload of shares in CarTrade by MacRitchie after it previously sold 20.32 lakh shares for Rs 828 apiece in June last year. Additionally it has sold 902,535 equity shares in the company since June in one or more tranches, according to the filing.
The Vinay Sanghi-led company has seen its share price rally 118.7% since June last year and have churned in skyrocketing profits in the prior quarters.
CarTrade reported a net profit of Rs 42.69 crore in the three months ended December 31 compared to a net loss of Rs 24.23 crore in the same period last year helped by strong demand during the festive season.
The sell off echoes similar trend in the broader Indian market with a rise in foreign investors pulling out of Indian stocks indicating shifting macroeconomic trends.
According to a Reuters report, global investors have pulled nearly $29 billion out of Indian stocks since October, which is the most in any six-month period amidst rising interest in Chinese companies, many of which are listed on Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index.
In September, Temasek, through V-Sciences Investments, also divested 1.4% stake in food and agri conglomerate Godrej Agrovet for more than Rs 212 crore in an open market sale.
However, the firm had reaffirmed its optimism in the country and has planned to invest around $10 billion over the next three years with its managing director for investments in India Vishesh Shrivastav adding that the country has delivered the highest returns for the company in the last decade.
Edited by Megha Reddy