Mastercard Exits Pine Labs via Rs 933 Crore Block Deal

Shares of Pine Labs rose on Tuesday following a block deal in which Mastercard Asia/Pacific Pte Ltd fully exited its investment in the Noida-based fintech firm. Mastercard divested its entire 4.31 percent stake, totaling 49,724,182 shares, for a total of Rs 933.57 crore at an average price of Rs 187.75 per share.

The shares were acquired by a consortium of buyers, including mutual funds managed by Kotak Mahindra, Edelweiss, and Franklin Templeton, as well as ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company. Foreign investors including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup Global Markets Singapore also participated. The stock reached a session high of Rs 205 and closed 2.07 percent higher at Rs 197.55 on the BSE.

This divestment follows a pattern of equity offloading, including a 3.1 percent stake deal on September 2 and previous sales by Actis in June. Simultaneously, Motilal Oswal Financial Services initiated coverage of Pine Labs with a Buy rating and a target price of Rs 250, citing the company's scalable technology and potential for margin expansion within its issuing and acquiring platform.