Goldman Sachs looms larger on Finance St

MUMBAI: ICICI Bank on Thursday sold its 3.7% holding in Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation to global investment bank Goldman Sachs for Rs 252 crore.

The sale of 4.2 crore IDFC shares is significant as the bank was among the first promoters of the institution that was set up to cater to the growing investment needs of the Indian infrastructure sector.

“Our strategy is to churn our portfolio to maximize returns,” said Visakha Mule, ICICI Bank’s chief financial officer. The IDFC shares were always a “financial investment”, she explained. The block deal was transacted at Rs 60 per share on the BSE. The price was also the intra-day high for the IDFC counter.

ICICI Bank has seen churning its investment portfolio very aggressively in recent times. The bank is also expected to complete a transaction with British bank Barclays Plc to sell a 10% stake in a Asset Reconstruction Co of India.

It had recently divested 7% stake in NCDEX, the commodity exchange promoted by the bank along with other institutions. On that occasion too, Goldman Sachs was the buyer.

ICICI Bank also holds a stake in institutions such as the National Stock Exchange and NSDL. Goldman Sachs interests in Indian assets is obvious, say investment banking circles. In March, the New York based financial powerhouse revealed that it has targeted $1 billion for investments in India.

The other majority shareholders in IDFC include State Bank of India, Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation. The Indian government is the largest shareholder with a 23.29% holding, but the company is run by professionals.