IRB Infra block deal: Stock drops 9% after over 600 mn shares change hands

Reports suggested Cintra, a toll road subsidiary of the Dutch major Ferrovial, was looking to sell up to 5 per cent stake in IRB Infrastructire Developer

IRB Infra block deal: IRB Infrastructure share prices tumbled 8.6 per cent to Rs 64.11 apiece on the BSE on Tuesday in early trade after a huge block deal on the counter.

At 9:15 AM, 26.5 million shares of IRB Infra changed hands on the BSE at a price of Rs 64.14 apiece. Till 9:44 AM, a total of 642.4 million shares had changed hands on the NSE and BSE. The stock was down 7.4 per cent as against an unchanged benchmark index.

While the buyers and sellers could not be ascertained immediately, reports suggested that Cintra, a toll road subsidiary of the Dutch major Ferrovial, was looking to sell up to 5 per cent stake in the company. 

According to multiple reports, Cintra has offered 301 million shares for sale with a floor price ranging from Rs 63 to Rs 70.16 per share, which is 10 per cent lower than the stock's closing price on Monday (Rs 70.5 apiece). Jefferies, and HSBC are the likely bankers for the deal.

At the end of the March quarter, Cintra INR Investments B V held 24.86 per cent stake in the company under the 'FPI' or 'foreign portfolio investors' category. Cintra had acquired this for 369 million euros in December 2021.

Bricklayers Investment Pte Ltd is the other FPI, holding 16.94 per cent stake. 

Last week, nearly 328.5 million shares or a 5.4 per cent equity stake in IRB Infrastructure Developers had changed hands via block deals. The transaction, valued at Rs 2,033 crore, was done at a floor price of Rs 65 apiece. Promoters IRB Holding Pvt Ltd, and Deepali Virendra Mhaiskarwere the likely sellers.

Meanwhile, IRB Infrastructure Developers reported a 30 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) rise in gross toll collection at Rs 535.5 crore for May 2024 from Rs 411.1 crore in the year-ago period.

For the March quarter, IRB Infrastructure Developers reported a 45 per cent Y-o-Y jump in net profit at Rs 188.9 crore. Besides, the highway builder reported a year-on-year core revenue growth of 27 per cent to Rs 2,061 crore.