Vishal Sikka’s Infosys Exit Costs Narayana Murthy Rs 770 Crore

Narayana Murthy

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

Shares of Infosys Ltd plunged 9.56 percent on Friday, the most in over four years, after Vishal Sikka resigned as the managing director and chief executive officer of the country's second-largest software services company. The company has wiped out more than Rs 22,400 crore in market value, according to Bloomberg data.

Market experts that BloombergQuint spoke to described the development as a strategic loss for Infosys. The company’s board was scheduled to meet on Saturday to finalise a long awaited buy-back, which some had hoped would help support the Infosys stock.

Losing Vishal Sikka is strategically a big loss, a fund manager at a domestic insurance firm which holds Infosys stock told BloombergQuint, speaking on the condition of anonymity. But from a stock perspective, this is a ‘neutral event’ because Vishal Sikka's tenure didn’t lead the company to great highs either, this fund manager added.

Moreover, Infosys Ltd lost more than Rs 22,400 crore in market value after Vishal Sikka’s resignation.

The stock dropped 9.6 percent, the most in over four years, to Rs 923 apiece. The decline wiped out a net worth of more than Rs 19,000 crore for public shareholders.

Murthy Loses Rs 770 Crore

NR Narayana Murthy – who the board blamed for Sikka's exit – owns close to 3.44 percent stake along with his family in the company he co-founded in 1981. The value of their combined holding fell by more than Rs 770 crore, or 10 percent, in a day.

Deutsche Bank Trust, the largest public shareholder, lost close to Rs 3,700 crore. Life Insurance Corporation of India, which owns more than 7 percent stake in the company, lost over Rs 1,600 crore.