Alpha Wave Sells Pine Labs Stake for ₹550 Cr
Investment firm Alpha Wave sold a 3.1% stake in fintech Pine Labs for ₹550 crore via block deals, leaving it with a minimal holding.
Global investment firm Alpha Wave has sold the majority of its stake in fintech major Pine Labs, netting ₹550 crore. The firm offloaded 3.54 crore shares at an average price of ₹155.10 each in a series of block deals, according to data from the National Stock Exchange.
This transaction represented nearly all of Alpha Wave's 3.1% stake in the company. Following the sale, the investment firm is left with just 4.9 lakh shares of Pine Labs. The sale price was at a discount of approximately 4.4% to the stock's closing price on the day of the deal.
Major Buyers in the Block Deal
A consortium of institutional investors purchased the shares sold by Alpha Wave. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance was the largest buyer, acquiring over 1 crore shares. Other significant purchasers included Societe Generale, which bought 45.3 lakh shares, and Goldman Sachs, which purchased 41.6 lakh shares. Domestic mutual funds such as JM Financial and Edelweiss also participated in the deal, picking up stakes in the fintech company. Norway’s sovereign wealth fund was also among the buyers.
Alpha Wave's Recent Selling Spree
The Pine Labs sale is part of a broader divestment trend by Alpha Wave. The global investment firm has been on a selling spree of late. Just last week, the firm sold 2.94 crore shares of omnichannel eyewear retailer Lenskart for ₹1,856.8 crore. In the same week, it also exited its entire 7.78% stake in non-banking financial company Aye Finance for approximately ₹322.6 crore.
Earlier exits this year include the sale of its nearly 2% stake in logistics firm Delhivery for around ₹665 crore in June. Back in May, Alpha Wave had sold an additional 3.72 crore shares of Lenskart.
Context of Pine Labs Share Activity
Pine Labs itself has been the subject of significant block deal activity in 2024. The expiration of its six-month post-IPO lock-in period on May 13 freed over 93 crore shares for trading. Following that, several other investors have reduced their stakes.
In June, private equity firm Actis sold approximately ₹522.6 crore worth of Pine Labs shares across two transactions. Prior to that, in May, US-based Altimeter Capital sold 1.56 crore shares and Madison India Capital sold 2.48 crore shares.
Pine Labs' Recent Financial Performance
The company has reported strong recent financial results. For the first quarter of the fiscal year 2027, Pine Labs' net profit surged over four times year-on-year to ₹19.6 crore. Its operating revenue for the quarter increased by 20% to ₹736.9 crore.
For the full fiscal year 2026, the company reported a net profit of ₹113 crore, a significant turnaround from a loss of ₹145 crore in FY25. Full-year operating revenue grew by 19% to ₹2,711 crore.
On the day of the Alpha Wave block deal, shares of Pine Labs closed 1.52% higher at ₹162.32 on the Bombay Stock Exchange.
