BT exits Tech Mahindra

British Telecommunications firm BT Group Plc has sold its entire 9.1 per cent stake in Indian outsourcing firm Tech Mahindra for Rs 1,011.4 crore.

Following the announcement, Tech Mahindra shares rose to more than 3 per cent during intra-day trade. They closed up 3.69 per cent at Rs 910.80 on the BSE, which was down 0.16 per cent.

The British firm recived total cash proceeds of £115.7 million from the sale of about 11.6 million shares to institutional investors at Rs871 a share, the company said in a statement.

BT also said that the financial impact of the disposal is expected to be treated as an income statement specific item in its next financial results. BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions – offering networked IT services, telecommunications services, broadband and internet products - across 170 countries.

For the year ended 31 March 2012, BT Group's revenue was £18.8 billion with profit before taxation of £2.4 billion pound.

BT, Britain's biggest fixed-line telecoms company, is also one of the major clients of Tech Mahindra, which provides technology services to global telecoms operators. Its exit is likely to cloud the outlook for future contracts from BT.