updates

Financial Technologies on discount MCX stake sale.

• ".. the company (FTIL) has informed  that it has entered into a share purchase agreement  with Kotak Mahindra Bank to sell 15% stake held in the MCX  for a consideration  of approximately  Rs 459 crore. From the aforesaid, the purchase price per share appears to be approximately Rs 664, which seems to be at a significant discount to the prevailing market price per share," a letter from BSE's listing compliance unit to dated July 21 to FTIL said.

• "In this regard, the company is requested to clarify on how the said sale of 15% stake in MCX at a significant discount, would be in the interests of the shareholders of the company," it said.

• Last month, Kotak Mahindra Bank announced it plans to acquire a 15% in MCX bourse promoted by FTIL for Rs 459 crore. The sale is subject to regulatory nod. FTIL is exiting the commodity stock exchange business after it was declared unfit to own shares in an exchange by the Forward Markets Commission in its order dated December 17, 2013, following a Rs 5,600-crore payment crisis at National Spot Exchange (NSEL). The regulator had directed FTIL to reduce its stake in MCX to 2% or less.

• FTIL chairman Venkat Chary recently said the company had decided to exit the exchange business across asset classes — stocks, commodities and electricity. The promoter plans to sell its holdings in exchanges including MCX, MCX-SX and electricity bourse IEX. Currently, rules allow only domestic commexes, stock exchanges, depositories, banks, insurance companies or a public financial institution to hold up to 15% of the paid-up capital in a commodity exchange.