MIT's endowment fund, Old Bridge Capital buy into Tanla via block deals

New Delhi: MIT’s endowment fund and Old Bridge Capital on Wednesday bought blocks of shares in Tanla Platforms from the hedge fund and credit investment arm of the Blackstone Group, for around Rs 87.5 crore, market sources said.

The endowment fund of US’s premier research university, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), bought 985,000 shares and Old Bridge Capital bought 685,000 shares of Tanla, at Rs 524.03 in block deals, market sources told ET.

Tanla's shares closed up 5% at Rs555.90 on the BSE Wednesday, pushing its market cap above to Rs7562.27, or over the $1 billion mark. The stock has been hitting the upper circuit for 10 straight trading days.

Endowment funds of universities are built on money received from donors or alumni. The earnings from the funds’ investments are used to run the university and manage their research budget. American universities such as Harvard, Notre Dame etc. invest heavily in India’s small cap stocks and primary market in want of high returns.

Cloud communications service provider Tanla has attracted four FIIs - MIT, Old Bridge Capital, Capital Group and Amansa Capital - within 13 days of the company’s inclusion in the MSCI India Domestic Small Cap Index.