UTI AMC to sell 49 pc stake through IPO

Leading mutual fund player UTI AMC on Wednesday said its board has approved a proposal to sell 49 per cent stake through an Initial Public Offer by the end of this fiscal.This will be the first-ever public offer by a mutual fund house in the country.

The four sponsor companies, State Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, LIC and Bank of Baroda, own 25 per cent stake each in UTI AMC. Post-IPO, their combined holding will come down to 51 per cent.The decision to go for an IPO was taken by the company's board at its meeting yesterday. The government had earlier cleared the IPO proposal.

The mutual fund house was formed after splitting the then UTI following a fiasco in its flagship scheme, US-64, in 2001.he proceeds of the issue will be used to fuel the company's increasing business needs.

StanChart close to buying stake in UTI

Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered plc is in final talks to buy a 49 percent stake in Indian brokerage UTI Securities, the latest bank to buy into the country's brokerage sector.

The deal would help Standard Chartered expand its services for wealthy customers in India, a fast-growing private banking market, by offering stock brokerage.

"The UTI transaction is in final due diligence," Peter Flavel, Standard Chartered's global head of private banking, said in Singapore, confirming earlier press reports.

Standard Chartered is joining a clutch of foreign players, including Citigroup Paribas that have invested in India's fast-growing brokerage sector.

UTI, which is owned by the Securities Trading Corp. of India, has 170 branches across the country, according to press reports.

Read more in The Economic Times article.

StanChart-UTI deal on Monday

UK-headquartered Standard Chartered Bank is set to become the third foreign player to enter the Indian retail stock brokerage business by buying a 49 per cent stake in UTI Securities for Rs 140-150 crore.

UTI Securities is currently fully-owned by Securities Trading Corporation of India (STCI). Sources said an agreement would be signed between the two parties in the coming week, probably on Monday.

The stake price values UTI Securities at Rs 300-325 crore. STCI, a primary dealer in government securities, had bought the entire UTI Securities stake for Rs 265 crore last year from Specified Undertaking of UTI, the trading arm spun off from the financial institution UTI in 2001-02.

The deal with Specified Undertaking of UTI requires STCI to have a minimum lock-in of its 51 per cent stake in UTI Securities for three years.

Read more in The Business Standard article.