Shares of Sona BLW Precision Forgings (Sona Comstar) fell 6% to Rs 408.10 on the BSE in intraday trade on Monday after more than 20% of the auto parts and equipment company’s total share capital changed hands in block trades.

Nearly 118.76 million shares changed hands on the BSE at 9:15 am, representing 20.3% of Sona Comstar’s total share capital. The names of the buyer and seller were not immediately identified.

At 10:09 am, the stock pared some of its intraday losses to trade down 3% at Rs 423.80 on the BSE. In contrast, the S&P BSE Sensex gained 0.19% to 59,248.

According to media reports, US private equity firm Blackstone wants to sell its entire stake in the auto parts maker in a block deal. The floor price was reportedly set at Rs 400 per share.

According to shareholding pattern data, as of December 31, 2022, Singapore VII Topco III Pte, a subsidiary of Blackstone, holds nearly 120 million shares (20.50% of shares) in Soma Comstar.

Earlier, on August 18, 2022, Singapore VII Topco III Pte, a subsidiary of Blackstone, sold 79.43 million shares in Sona Comstar for Rs 4,043 crore.

Sona Comstar is one of the world’s leading suppliers of automotive technology solutions. The company is a leading supplier to the rapidly growing global electric vehicle (EV) market.

Sona Comstar has underperformed the market over the past six months, falling 23% compared with a 2% drop for the benchmark index.

Meanwhile, on February 28, 2023, rating agency India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) revised the outlook on Sona Comstar from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’. It affirmed the company’s long-term issuer rating at “IND AA”.