Chennai: SBI Life Insurance Company shares fell six per cent after BNP Paribas Cardif offloaded major shareholding in the company through open market transaction. It shed 12 per cent in last one year.
In a BSE filing, SBI Life said BNP Paribas sold 5.074 per cent stake in company through block deal on 29 March. After the deal, BNP Paribas Cardif, the second promoter after State Bank of India, reduced its stake to 7.701 per cent from 12.775 per cent earlier.
In September 2018, BNP Paribas Cardif had said it may consider reducing its stake in the company to ensure compliance with minimum public shareholding requirement in accordance with applicable law. As per the law, a company should have minimum public float of 25 per cent.
In March, BNP Paribas Cardif sold 9.2 per cent stake in SBI Life Insurance in a block deal to CA Emerald Investments. The international insurance company had held 22 per cent or 22 crore shares of SBI Life Insurance as of December 2018.