UTI Mutual Fund poaches top Sundaram BNP Paribas fund manager Anoop Bhaskar

The Times of India reports that Anoop Bhaskar of Sundaram BNP Paribas Mutual Fund, and one of the top fund managers in the industry, will join UTI Mutual Fund. Anoop Bhaskar is the head of equities at Chennai-based Sundaram BNP Mutual Fund. He will join UTI Mutual Fund in the same position. Bhaskar is one of the most active, and one of the better-performing fund managers in the Indian mutual fund industry.

UTI to divest 36.58% stake in SICOM

The Unit Trust of India has invited bids from financial investors to sell its 36.58% stake in State Industrial Corporation of Maharashtra (SICOM), the investment arm of Maharashtra government. UTI holds 40% stake in SICOM – 36.58% through Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SU-UTI) and 3.5% is held by UTI Mutual Fund (UTI AMC).

The bids have been invited for the entire 36.58% stake held by SU-UTI. Foreign investors, including International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group and DEG, one of the largest European development finance institutions, have approached investment bankers to take stake in SICOM. Standard Chartered Private Equity (SCPE), Lehman Brothers, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and a couple of hedge funds may also be interested in picking up stake in SICOM (See Related Post).

Apart from UTI’s 40%, the Maharashtra government holds 49% stake in the corporation. The remaining stake is held by other financial institutions and employees.

Read the article in The Economic Times.