PNB Housing hits 5% upper circuit after 25% fall from 52-week high

Shares of PNB Housing Finance were locked in the upper circuit of 5 per cent at Rs 750.10 on the BSE in Thursday's session. The stock of the housing finance company recovered 9 per cent from the low of Rs 690 touched in the intra-day deal today. It has fallen 25 per cent from its 52-week high level of Rs 924 touched June 8, 2021, amid concerns raised in certain quarters about its proposed Rs 4,000 crore-deal with Carlyle group.

Till 01:42 pm, a combined around 1,90,000 shares of PNB Housing had changed hands and there were pending buy orders for 12,000 shares on the NSE and BSE. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.22 per cent at 52,384 points.

PNB Housing Finance on Wednesday said the process followed in determining the issue price for its securities was in line with the "market practice" followed by listed companies and in compliance with the applicable law. CLICK HERE FOR COMPANY STATEMENT

Responding to the clarifications sought by the stock exchanges on Monday regarding the deal, the company -- a subsidiary of Punjab National Bank -- also emphasised that pricing is not required to be based on a valuation report from a registered valuer and that the final price is higher than the floor price suggested by registered valuers, PTI reported. CLICK HERE TO READ FULL REPORT

In May, PNB Housing Finance had announced that it will raise Rs 4,000 crore from a clutch of investors, led by existing stakeholder Carlyle group, by way of issuing preference shares and warrants. These securities are priced at Rs 390 apiece.

Eventually, the deal, which is subject to various regulatory approvals, would also result in the Carlyle group taking a controlling stake in PNB Housing Finance.

Earlier this month, proxy advisory firm SES raised concerns over the proposed deal and said it was not in favour of the minority shareholders as well as the promoter Punjab National Bank.

Against this backdrop, the stock exchanges, on Monday, sought some clarifications from PNB Housing Finance on the proposed deal and also asked it to submit the pricing certificate from a registered valuer.