Stock Market News Today : Antfin Singapore Holding, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group, recently sold a 2.4 percent stake in Zomato, worth Rs 5,438.50 crore, through a block deal on August 20. This sale, carried out at Rs 258 per share, represented a slight discount of about 2 percent from Zomato’s last closing price.
Following the sale, Zomato’s stock saw a quick dip of over 1 percent, trading at Rs 259.20 on the NSE at 09:21 am. The sale also triggers a 90-day lock-in period, during which Antfin cannot sell more shares.
Reports from CNBC-TV18 had indicated that Antfin was planning to offload around 2 percent of its stake, valued at approximately $556 million (Rs 4,650 crore). Earlier, there were suggestions that Antfin might sell a smaller 1.54 percent stake worth $408 million.
This stake sale comes shortly after Zomato announced a significant increase in its quarterly net profit, which soared 126.5 times to Rs 253 crore for the April-June period compared to the same time last year. This profit surge was driven by higher platform fees and better performance from its quick commerce division, Blinkit.
Zomato’s stock has been on a strong upward trend, delivering a 112 percent return so far this year and nearly 200 percent over the past year. With strong performance and growth prospects, some analysts, including those from CLSA and UBS Securities, predict that Zomato’s stock could surpass Rs 300 within the next year.
Stock Market News Today Updates (FAQs)
What was the recent stake sale in Zomato?
On August 20, 2024, Antfin Singapore Holding sold a 2.4 percent stake in Zomato through a block deal worth Rs 5,438.50 crore.
A block deal is a transaction where a large number of shares (usually over 5 lakh) are bought or sold by an institutional investor through a single transaction on a stock exchange.
Why did Antfin sell its stake in Zomato?
While the exact reasons aren’t public, such stake sales are often driven by portfolio rebalancing, profit booking, or strategic realignment by the shareholder.
What is the significance of the 90-day lock-in period after the stake sale?
The lock-in period prevents Antfin from selling any more shares of Zomato for 90 days, providing stability to the stock by avoiding immediate further dilution.
How did the market react to the stake sale?
Following the block deal, Zomato’s stock saw a slight drop of over 1 percent, reflecting the market’s immediate reaction to the large sale.