This probably reflects the windfall gains that several private investors—ranging from private equity funds to family offices—are sitting on after mopping up blue chip stocks during the most recent market crash. ChrysCapital is left with a residual stake in Infosys after offloading most of the shares two-to-three weeks ago, sources added.
ChrysCap entered the Infosys counter in mid-2008 . Since then the stock vaulted from Rs 1,400 level to over Rs 3,000 earlier this month on the back of a bull run in the domestic bourses. The fund had cornered under 2% stake through open market bulk deals, and the exit bolsters the story of private investment in public equity in markets like India with a large pool of listed firms, and where private enterprise valuations are mostly at a premium to stock markets even in a bull run.
The neat exit from Infosys is believed to have helped ChrysCap's international investors—who have seen dwindling returns from their portfolio of private equity funds globally—when they received about $1 billion in liquidity from ChrysCap in the last 18 months.
When contacted, a senior ChrysCap official declined to comment on exits as a matter of policy. He said the fund was bullish on investing in Indian public market, as private valuations appeared a bit more fuller at this point of time.
'' The valuation between private and public markets is a cyclical story. So we tend to look at both private and listed firms when we explore sectors ,'' he added.
While the exit from Infy is significant for its size, Chrys-Cap has booked higher gains on smaller transactions in public markets this year. In March, it sold 1.34% stake in Zydus Wellness for Rs 330 per share after buying in at Rs 70 per share, hardly 12 months earlier.
Being the largest FII, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority currently holds 2% in Infosys , New York-based Oppenheimer Developing Markets Fund holds 1.76% and Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index Fund holds 1.18%.