Mastercard to sell full Pine Labs stake in block deal worth nearly 890 crore rupees

Mastercard Asia-Pacific is set to sell its entire stake in fintech firm Pine Labs through a block deal valued at nearly 890 crore rupees, according to reports citing deal terms.

Deal Details

The transaction involves offering up to 4.97 crore shares at a floor price of 179.50 rupees each. The deal is scheduled for 22 September and will be handled through Citi. The floor price sits 7.33% below the previous closing price of 193.70 rupees, bringing the estimated transaction value to around 892 crore rupees. Trendlyne data shows Mastercard held a 4.31% stake in Pine Labs at the end of the June quarter. General shareholders hold a majority 65.7% stake, while domestic institutional investors hold 24.8% and foreign institutional investors hold 9.5%.

Stock Recovery And Brokerage Outlook

The potential share sale coincides with a strong recovery in Pine Labs stock, which has surged 40% from its July lows and narrowed its year-to-date losses to 19%. Domestic brokerage Motilal Oswal recently initiated coverage on the stock with a buy rating and a target price of 250 rupees per share. In a bull-case scenario, the brokerage projects a 72% upside with a 330 rupee target, while its bear-case scenario expects a 27% decline to 140 rupees.

Financial Growth

Pine Labs reported a more than four-fold jump in its first-quarter consolidated profit, rising to 19.57 crore rupees from 4.79 crore rupees a year earlier. Growth was driven by increased consumer and merchant adoption of digital payments and India's Unified Payments Interface. Revenue from operations grew 19.6% year-on-year, with digital infrastructure revenue rising nearly 15% to 499 crore rupees and issuing and acquiring platform revenue increasing 31%.