Morgan Stanley , Citigroup and private equity fund Actis have entered into agreements to buy 6 percent of India's National Stock Exchange (NSE) for undisclosed sums, the exchange said.
The deals will take foreign ownership of the NSE to 26 percent, the maximum allowed by Indian law, after NYSE Group Inc. General Atlantic and Softbank Asian Infrastructure Fund paid $460 million for stakes totalling 20 percent in January.
Individual foreign holdings are limited to 5 percent.
Morgan Stanley will buy 3 percent, while Citigroup will take 2 percent and Actis 1 percent, NSE said in a statement late on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Singapore Exchange paid $42.7 million for a 5 percent stake in NSE's smaller rival, the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), following a similar deal by Deutsche Boerse last month.
The interest in India's vibrant stock exchanges follows several consolidation attempts among the world's bourses.
Source : Reuters