Blackstone acquires 14.2 lakh shares of MCX for Rs 81 crore

Blackstone on Monday bought 2.79 per cent stake in Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) for around Rs 81 crore, after the Forward Markets Commission gave the private equity giant its nod to hike holding in the commodity bourse to 4.99 per cent.

According to information available with the stock exchanges, foreign fund house Merrill Lynch sold its entire stake of 14,22,245 shares, amounting to 2.79 per cent stake, of MCX to Blackstone GPV Capital Partners Mauritius VI FII. 

The shares were offloaded on an average price of Rs 573 valuing the transaction at Rs 81.49 crore.

As of September quarter, Blackstone held 10.19 lakh shares, equivalent to two per cent stake, in MCX.

On December 18, 2013, the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) accorded its approval to Blackstone GPV Capital Partners (Mauritius) VI FII Ltd to increase its stake in the company up to 4.99 per cent through secondary market transactions.

Increasing its stake to 4.99 per cent would make Blackstone the largest non-promoter shareholder in MCX, ahead of Aginyx Enterprises and IFCI Ltd, which each held 4.79 per cent in the bourse.

In March last year, Merrill Lynch had sold 1.99 per cent of its stakeholding in MCX, to Blackstone, for an estimated Rs 104 crore.