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Mumbai, March 7: NYSE Euronext today called off its plans to sell its entire stake of 4.79 per cent in Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) because of a poor response from investors.
The global operator of financial markets, which runs the New York Stock Exchange, had lined up a sale of its 24.42 lakh shares of MCX and had fixed a price range of Rs 1,005.10 to Rs 1,026.25 per share. If successful, it would have yielded Rs 250 crore.
However, the share sale through block deals on the bourses was called off as it met with lacklustre investor response. Capital market circles said the offered price range was higher than expected.
MCX is the country’s largest commodity bourse, and NYSE Euronext had acquired the stake in June 2008 at a price of Rs 559 per share. Based on MCX’s current market price, NYSE is eyeing a doubling of its investments.
The sale plan was floated after the one-year lock-in period since the listing of MCX in March last year. However, market sentiment for MCX has turned bearish because of the commodity transaction tax (CTT) imposed in the budget.
In Budget 2013, finance minister P. Chidambaram had announced CTT of 0.01 per cent, or Rs 10 per lakh, on non-agri commodity transactions. Experts fear that the proposal will hit turnover at commodity bourses.
In such circumstances, market circles do not rule out the possibility of NYSE Euronext again making an attempt to offload its shares, but at a lower price range. The stake sale is part of its efforts to monetise its non-strategic assets.
With NYSE Euronext calling off its stake sale for now, the spotlight has also turned on other prospective shareholders who can sell their stakes. According to stock exchange data, some of the other shareholders include the State Bank of India, Canara Bank, HDFC Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of India, which have a little over 1 per cent each.
Others with stakes are Intel Capital (Mauritius), which holds around 1.62 per cent, and IFCI, which has a relatively larger shareholding of 4.79 per cent. IFCI has indicated that it may sell part of its stake. Shares of MCX today fell 3.81 per cent, or Rs 40.20, to end at Rs 1,015.85.
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