Carlyle group withdraws from 51% joint stake sale with PNB in PNB Housing Finance

New Delhi: The joint sale process to divest equity in PNB Housing Finance (PNBHFL) by PNB and Carlyle Group has been terminated post the latter’s exit from the sale plan, the state-owned bank said Tuesday. Carlyle Group has withdrawn from the joint stake sale process and the joint stake sale process has been terminated, as jointly communicated by PNB and QIH to the company on November 13, 2018, Punjab National Bank (PNB) said in a regulatory filing. “That said, PNB will continue to pursue and proceed with an independent sale of its shareholding in PNBHFL,” PNB said. A communication regarding this independent stake sale has been sent by PNB to the board of directors of PNBHFL, it said further. [caption id=“attachment_4470733” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. AFP[/caption] PNB and Carlyle Group via its investment vehicle Quality Investment Holdings (QIH) in July had said that they will jointly sell their stakes in PNB Housing Finance. As per the original plan, PNB and Carlyle Group had planned to sell at least 51 percent stake in the mortgage lender PNB Housing Finance. The state-owned lender owns 32.79 percent stake and Carlyle Group, through its investment vehicle QIH, owns 32.36 percent of the paid up equity share capital of PNB Housing Finance. In May this year, QIH sold 4.8 percent stake in PNB Housing Finance for Rs 1,024 crore through an open market transaction. PNB Housing Finance, a subsidiary of PNB, claims to be among the top five housing finance companies with assets under management of Rs 73,482 crore as on 30 September 2018. It posted a 33 percent jump in net profit at Rs 253 crore in second quarter ended September of the current fiscal, as against Rs 190 crore in year-ago same period.