Shares of PNB Housing Finance today hit over 6-week high as Punjab National Bank (PNB) and Carlyle Group plan to sell at least 51 per cent stake in the mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance.

PNB Housing Finance Ltd surged 6.4 per cent to Rs 1,269, its highest in over six weeks.

PNB owns 32.79 per cent stake and Carlyle Group, through its investment vehicle Quality Investment Holdings, owns 32.36 per cent of the paid-up equity share capital of PNB Housing Finance.

“PNB and Carlyle are jointly evaluating the stake sale instead of separate stake sales, which will help strategic investors to get the stake in one shot, opening a chance for getting control premium, reaping in better valuations for the stake,’’ said Nidhesh Jain, an analyst with Investec Capital

“Secondly, it will be a bidding process so it will not come to the market and we may see better value discovery through a bidding process than selling it in the market,’’ Jain added.

Control premium is an amount buyer is sometimes willing to pay over the current market price of a stock in order to acquire a controlling share.

PNB Housing Finance stock posted biggest intraday percentage rise since June 25, but had fallen down 11 per cent this year as of last close.

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