Abrdn, earlier known as Standard Life Aberdeen, on Wednesday sold its entire stake of 1.66 per cent in HDFC Life Insurance Company (HDFC Life) for over Rs 2,068 crore.

Abrdn, which is classified as a promoter entity, held 3,56,94,105 shares of the life insurer as of March 31, 2023.

Data available from the BSE showed that it sold all these shares at an average price of Rs 579.60 for Rs 2,068.83 crore. The transaction led to HDFC Life shares ending on a firm note at the stock exchanges on a day when the benchmark index settled with losses of nearly 347 points. On the BSE, the HDFC Life share ended at Rs 591.55, a gain of 1.04 per cent or Rs 6.10 over the last close. The life insurer currently has a market cap of Rs 1,27,162.20 crore.

While reports say that HDFC Bank will purchase the entire stake from Abrdn, the buyer of these 3.56 crore shares were not disclosed at the stock exchange website.

Shares of HDFC Life have gained since last month after the RBI gave its green signal to HDFC Bank or HDFC to raise their stake in the private insurer. In April, HDFC Life had said that the banking regulator had permitted HDFC Bank or HDFC to increase their shareholding to over 50 per cent prior to the effective date of the merger. Currently, the promoters holding stands at 48.65 per cent.

The life insurer had reported flat profits for the fourth quarter ended March 31 at Rs 358.66 crore.