Delhivery shares edge lower after SoftBank offloads 3.8% stake for ₹954 crore

• Japanese investment giant SoftBank has offloaded a 3.8% stake in logistics provider Delhivery in a block deal worth ₹954 crore on Wednesday.
  
• Shares of Delhivery were trading 2% lower in morning trade on Thursday.
  
• SoftBank remains the single largest shareholder in the company with a holding of 14.62%.
  

Shares of logistics provider Delhivery were down 2% in morning trade on Thursday, a day after Japanese investment giant SoftBank offloaded a 3.8% stake in the company – paring its holding to 14.62%. On Wednesday, Delhivery’s shares had gained a little over 1%.

According to data from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), SoftBank sold shares worth ₹954 crore in a bulk deal at ₹340 apiece. The Japanese fund led by Masayoshi Son had invested $380 million (approx. ₹3,100 crore) in Delhivery.

Prior to Delhivery going public in May 2022, SoftBank held a 22% stake in the company. At the end of December 2022, its stake was down to 18.42%. With a 14.62% stake, SoftBank continues to remain the largest shareholder in Delhivery.

Delhivery debuted on the stock exchanges in May 2022 with muted gains – the stock opened at ₹495, marginally above the issue price of ₹487. Since then, Delhivery’s shares have fallen over 30% from the listing price.

In 2023 so far, the stock has edged up nearly 3%.

SoftBank’s recent stake sales in new-age Indian startups

SoftBank has pared its holdings in multiple new-age Indian startups in the recent past. In November 2022, it offloaded a 4.5% stake in One97 Communications (Paytm) via the open market for ₹1,631 crore.

In December, the Son-led investment giant halved its stake to 5.08% in Policybazaar-parent PB Fintech, mopping up ₹1,043 crore in the process.

The fund is also reportedly planning a secondary sale of shares in Paytm. However, Paytm denied those reports in an exchange filing, saying, “The company is not part of any negotiation/ events as mentioned in the news report.”

SoftBank had reported a net loss of $5.9 billion for the December quarter. It lost around $5.5 billion in its signature Vision Funds alone in the October-December period, “reflecting declines in the share prices of a wide range of portfolio companies.”

In the previous quarter, the fund reported a $10 billion loss.

(With inputs from IANS)

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