Apollo Hospitals rises and falls

Apollo Hospitals is doing a see-saw today. It opened Rs.17 higher, climbing up further by another Rs.7 to an intra day high at Rs.1443.25. It has now slipped to the day’s low point at Rs.1426, managing to just about hold onto the green.

The stock jumped up, reacting to it selling its stake in Apollo Munich Insurance . It will be selling 23.3% stake to its JV partner, Munich Re, Germany. This will bring in Rs.163 crore, giving Apollo Munich a valuation of Rs.703 crore.

With this stake sale, its stake in Apollo Munich has come down to 51.1% from 74.4% and that of Munich Re will rise to 48.7%.

Munich Re is amongst the first to cash-in on the Govt, in March 2015, increasing FDI cap in the insurance sector to 49% from 26%.

Apollo Hospitals does not really gain anything from this stake sale and there are no plans, at least in the immediate future to list this insurance group company. This probably explains why the stock price ultimately deflated after rising like a helium balloon.