Abrdn has sold the entirety of shares it held in India's HDFC Life Insurance for a sum of £198mn, while reaffirming its commitment to share buybacks.
In a statement to the stock exchange today (May 31), Abrdn said it is committed to returning a “significant proportion of capital generated from further stake sales by way of share buybacks”.
It said a further announcement will be made in due course.
The 35,694,105 shares were sold on the National Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock Exchange by Abrdn’s subsidiary Abrdn Mauritius Holdings.
The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 579.9, which will result in the Abrdn subsidiary receiving approximately Rs 20,415mn or £198mn, net of taxes and expenses from the sale.
The Abrdn subsidiary now has no remaining shareholdings in HDFC Life.
The shares sold made up 1.66 per cent of the paid-up, issued equity shared capital of HDFC Life.
Established in 2000, HDFC Life is a life insurance provider in India.
Its website describes it as a joint venture between HDFC Limited and Abrdn (Mauritius Holdings).
HDFC Limited is a housing finance institution established in India in 1977.
jane.matthews@ft.com
