IFC stake in GTB below 5 pc

The International Finance Corporation, Washington, (IFC) has reduced its stake in the Hyderabad-based Global Trust Bank (GTB) to 4.57 per cent from 10.38 per cent as on March 31, 2003, through a series of block deals in the recent past.

The latest sale transaction took place on December 4 when IFC sold 24.84 lakh equity shares of GTB through a block deal at a price of Rs 28.55. Most of these shares were purchased by Goldman Sachs.

With this the holding of FIIs in GTB went up to 2.63 per cent. Though IFC's sale transaction took place on the BSE platform, it "appears to be a pre-negotiated and synchronised transaction," a market analyst watching the GTB scrip, observed.

IFC, which has been associated with GTB since its inception, has been offloading the GTB stock in the recent past whenever there is a price increase. It sold 31,73,016 shares (2.61%) during August 13-22 this year.

In the subsequent transaction, it offloaded another one per cent holding in GTB. When contacted on the paring of IFC stake in GTB, Sudhakar Gande, the managing director of the bank, said : " It is nothing to do with the bank.They might have sold the shares in view of their internal considerations."