BSE to offload 51% stake

Bombay Stock Exchange Limited is looking to offload 26 per cent of its equity to a strategic investor. A further 25 per cent would be offloaded through an initial public offer, according to Rajnikant Patel, CEO and managing director, BSE Limited.

Kotak Securities has been appointed as an advisor for the stake sales. The exchange has set a deadline of May 2007 for completing these two deals, but is targeting the end of the calendar year for the same.

The strategic investor could be a domestic or overseas one, Patel said. This could also include other exchanges, banks and multi lateral agencies, he added. Patel was addressing an audience at BSE's 132nd Foundation Day.

The exchange also unveiled a Gujarati website www.bseindia.com/gujarati.

As part of the demutualisation and corporatisation exercise of the stock exchanges, BSE became a company from an Association Of Persons in 2005.