Idea Cellular drops over 3% as Providence sells stake in the company

Idea Cellular shares on Tuesday dropped over 3% during the morning trade after a subsidiary of Providence Equity Partners sold its 3.3% stake in the company.

At 0955 hours the shares of the company were trading at Rs 110.75 per piece, down 3.36% or Rs 3.85 on BSE. 

On Monday, Reuters had reported that the Providence unit, P5 Asia Investments (Mauritius) Ltd, will sell about 120 million shares in the mobile carrier today, in a price range of Rs 106.5($1.60) to Rs 114.55  a share.

"The lower end of the range is a 7% discount to Idea`s closing price of 114.55 rupees on the National Stock Exchange on Monday and would value the 3.3% stake at nearly $192 million," the report had said.

Providence unit's decision came in after Idea's recent talks over a merger with Vodafone India, potentially creating the country`s biggest phone carrier.

Idea shares have surged nearly 47% since the two sides confirmed merger talks on January 30.